Learning the ABCs
by Mistress of Murder Rin-sama
Summary: Inspired by Erina-chan's 'Alphabet' LATEST CHAPTER: Melt- "Oh my gosh . . . I just had a one night stand with my engaged former crush, current love interest, and he's getting married the morning after!" Don't worry Sakura, it gets better!
1. Again

**I have discovered my love: Oneshots. Where there is no plot. I'm starting a series of oneshots inspired by Erina-chan's Alphabet. I'm doing a Alphabet thing for SasuSaku and, well, yeah. Here it is.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this series, I'd be able to speak Japanese. ****Unfortunatly, my knowledge of the Japanese language hardly goes farther than ****'Hai' and 'Iie'.**

Again

As she stood cold in thin layers of clothing that clung to every inch of her skin in the rain, shivers erupted violently throughout her body. She pressed her teeth together as not to hear her teeth chatter incessantly. She stood in the street of a foreign town, visiting some relatives and enjoying a festival. Bad weather broke out and her extended family rushed home. She saw a familiar face and told them she'd be home later. Her red kimono was darkened by the sky's wetness. Cold needles pricking her skin constantly, strands of pastel hair grouped together, as if they could stay warm by being close. She was so cold. So, so cold.

"You'll catch cold." He said flatly, more in a tone of polite digression than honest concern.

"So will you." She replied with blue-purple lips. Downcast jade eyes searched the cobblestone path, tracing the gray path with intense focus. She summoned enough willpower to look at him.

He stood silently, back to her. His black shirt was soaked, the Uchiha crestglaring at her, but so small, as if the importance of his clan had dwindled to almost nothing from the day one till now.

"I still love you." She whispered.

"I know."

He turned his head, a pale white profile outlined boldly against the darkness of the night, a sullen eye stared out of his hollow face. His beautiful, bleak eyes seemed to have died, dark shadows pooling underneath them.

"Please don't leave me again." She begged, her voice a little bit

stronger.

"You know I will." She smiled a small, bittersweet smile.

"Yes. I do. But I'm going to cling to false hopes." She clasped her clammy hands together in a fruitless attempt to keep them from shaking, holding them close to her rushing heart. "If you knock me out again, can you at least bring me to a hotel or something? I'm borrowing this kimono from my cousin." Humorless banter.

"Let me go."

She froze.

"What?"

"Let me go. I'm suffering now because I had people I cared about. And I lost them. I don't want you to end up like me."

So he did care. A small spark of expectation lit up in her chest.

"Please don't hold onto me." He begged, his voice a little bit stronger.

"You know I will." He smiled a small, bittersweet smile.

"Yes. I do. Bit I'm going to cling to false hopes." She laughed at the deja vu. A crescent moon hung in the sky, suspended by a scattered string of stars.

"So please . . . stay with me . . . or take me with you if you can't stay here . . . " She said, for the sake of old times. He played along, to give her this one satisfaction because he disappointed her so many other times.

"You really are . . . annoying."

"Don't leave . . . if you do, I'll scream." She replied half-heartedly.

He moved behind her.

"Sakura . . . " He breathed into her ear, leaning closer into her.

"Thank you." He moved his arm to strike her, but she turned on her heel and caught him. In momentary panic, he lifted his right arm to punch, but she caught that too. She looked him straight in the eye, jade to onyx.

"Sasuke."

"Sakura."

"Thank you for doing this for me again." Sakura dropped his hands, smiled again, and walked away.

* * *

**I did the bittersweet smile, begging, false hopes bit over again, a play on the title 'Again'. That was my attempt of being clever. So's the last , and since this is a collection of oneshots, the stories won't relate to each other in anyway.**

**Over and Out,**

**Mistress of Murder Rin-sama**


	2. Bioamnosis

**Uh, yes, this chapter was supposed to be up earlier, but I had to get new software and I lost it. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be all serious until the end, but I decided to make it funny and dramatic at the same time. Below is the failed attempt at dramatic comedy. I'm telling you, it is NOT easy. Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure this disease isn't a real one. I just made it up.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my friends Quinne and Lainie, for the skit they wrote that this is very, very loosely based on.**

**DISCLAIMER: No, actually, I don't own Naruto. Or any of the obscure internet references made in this particular chapter.**

Bioamnosis

The lights flickered.

Sakura Haruno sat quietly in her uncomfortable chair, staring forlornly at the concrete wall as if she could move it by using her nonexistent telekinetic powers. And because telekinetic people are telekinetic, they shouldn't have to use their hands to 'channel' their psychic ability, but they have to anyways. But either way, she couldn't move the wall with her hands bound in rope.

It'll bring you down, that rope.

The door creaked.

"Hello Sakura, what are you doing?"

"Hi Sasuke-kun. I'm trying to use my super special awesome telekinetic powers to move that wall." she answered grudgingly, the way you do when that really girly aunt comes over and asks if you want to go on a mega shopping spree when you've already made plans and your parent pushes for it because you guys apparently don't 'get along'.

"You've followed me and my . . . companions here, with no regard for stealth whatsoever. Have you forgotten your ninja skills entirely?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura laughed a cynical laugh.

"I'm not a ninja anymore. Danzo stripped me of that position a long time ago."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"I have a disease . . . Don't worry your pretty little head off, Sasuke-kun, it's not contagious. It _is _deadly though. . . Nice weather today, very sunny."

"What's it called?"

Sakura frowned and looked thoughtfully upwards, tracing the cracks on the wall that vaguely resembled the Ask A Ninja Ninja.

"I believe it is called summer. Did you ever notice the cracks on the ceiling look like the Ask a Ninja Ninja?"

Sasuke's eyes pulsed red for a second, irritated at how lightly Sakura was taking it all.

"No Sakura, I mean the disease."

"Oh yes, it is called bioamnosis."

"Never heard of it."

"Neither had I. It was a newly discovered combination of a fast working cancer and amnesia. It got Kakashi-sensei and Naruto too. You know Sasuke, you'll be the legacy of Team 7. What a way to be remembered," She murmured sarcastically, eyes downcast in a dramatic fashion.

"What are the symptoms?" Sasuke asked, throat becoming tight with despair . . . Kakashi and Naruto already dead, Sakura on her way.

"Dry humor, internet references and amnesia. They all come right before you die. You should've been there when Naruto was about to die, you didn't know whether or not you wanted to slap the kid or hug him." She laughed, a tear escaping her dying jade eyes.

Sasuke suddenly snapped; he drew his Kusanagi and swung it downwards, freeing the ex-kunoichi of her bindings. Sakura didn't even blink, she was still staring relentlessly at the raven-haired boy in front of her. Angered at Sakura, the disease, and the world in general, Sasuke kicked Sakura's chair backwards, toppling it and sending her tumbling back. Sakura lay face down unmovingly on the floor, her pale hands in tight fists.

"Your life is screwed up, isn't it? That's why you take it out on the people that love you." Sakura said, the right side of her face slowly freezing, molecule by molecule on the cold floor. "Even when they're dying, you don't care."

"Why can't you see Sakura! I DO care! Why did you come here! WHY didn't you STAY in Konoha to find a cure! To get a chance to LIVE!" Sasuke screamed, his voice cracking like the walls. Sakura painstakingly sat up.

"There is no cure. Like I said, it's a sort of cancer. And besides, you don't care. It wasn't too long ago you were trying to kill me." She reminded him.

Sasuke stopped. His breathing became shallow and his heart started pounding.

"I-I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry about trying to . . .N-no . . . " Sudden realization struck Sasuke like your little brother's underwear's smell when it's been thrown in your face and it's full of doo-doo.

"Hey . . . you're really pretty . . . " Sakura slurred with childlike innocence. Or, with that last last comment in mind, with something really innocent innocence.

Sasuke laughed-yes fangirls-laughed.

"Thank you."

_'She's dying. I'm the last person who gets to see Sakura alive . . . and I'm the last person she gets to see before she dies. I only wish . . . I only wish that she got something she deserved. I don't deserve to see her.'_

"H-hey . . . why you crying? Did I do something wrong?" Sakura stood up carefully, taking a couple wobbly steps towards the broken ninja. She put her hand on his shoulder. Sasuke quickly wiped away the foreign tears, not wanting to upset this pure Sakura; untainted by the evils of the world.

"It's . . . it's nothing. I just lost a friend." Sakura hugged him, and for the first time in a while, Sasuke cried as much as he could, soaking Sakura's red shirt.

"If it's alright with you, I could be your friend." Sakura whispered, eyes soft.

"I'd like that."

And Sakura fell limp in his arms.

"And the award for Best Dramatic Comedy goes to Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno in 'Bioamnosis'!" Choji announced, handing the shiny award to the two actors. Sakura threw her hands around Sasuke's neck and pecked him on the cheek, laughing good naturedly.

"Would you like to say a couple words?" Choji questioned.

"How about three? Take that Itachi." Sasuke replied. Itachi sat in the front row and frowned, having lost his shiny trophy to his foolish little brother.

"WHAT NOW UCHIHA!" Sakura said loudly, getting her point across with a gangster sort of gesture that looked like one was about to hug a whale, but really didn't want to because of all the weird looks one was getting from all the other sane people who don't like hugging whales.

"Wait a second, that could either mean Sasuke," Sakura pointed to the left, "Or Itachi." she pointed to the right with the opposite hand.

"Wait, can I redo th-"

"And that's all we have for tonight Konoha, thank you!"


	3. Colors

**I'm back! I finally finished the chapter, and it wasn't even very long. I personally don't think this chapter is very incredible, but hey, you know what they say. 'You're your own worst critic.' I won't make excuses for why this is late (coughschoolcough) and so I will ask for forgiveness. Because that is really important to me.  
That was sarcasm, in case you didn't get it.**

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. $#!T.**

Colors

"T-thanks for the flowers, Sasuke-kun. I'll go put them in some water." Sakura slapped on a fake grin. And shut the door on him. The loud 'smack' triggered some unfortunate birds to take off in terror.

"Teme! What'd you do!" Naruto jumped out from behind the bushes and hit his friend upside the head. Growling, the (rejected!) Uchiha grabbed Naruto's wrist and strengthened his grip, his finger nails digging into a pressure point, until finally he was on the ground begging for mercy.

"I don't know, your plan was stupid." The slighted boy turned away, pride bruised and ego shattered. Flowers to girl, preposturous.

"Hey! You were stupid for coming to me with girl problems!" the rest of the birds in the general vicinity scattered and one unseen person yelled 'keep it down out there!'.

"Touche . . . "

**_Inside the Haruno residence . . ._**

Sakura pulled the flowers out of the plastic and tissue paper bouquet and laid them in front of Ino.

"Who was at the door?" The blonde girl said, pulling her tresses back into their original ponytail. She examined the variety of flowers on the table before her.

"Sasuke was at the door."

Ino's single, visible eye narrowed dangerously, a death threat hidden beyond the the depths of the aquamarine eyes. Her manicured fingers drummed themselves against the birch wood furiously, getting faster and faster until the fingers were confused and flew all over the place.

"THAT JERK!" Ino finally yelled, snapping a striped carnation in half.

"I-Ino . . . it's alright. I mean, maybe he doesn't-" Sakura began in a out of character, timid voice.

"No! It's not alright! He does, Sakura! HE DOES! See? Striped carnations, yellow carnations, yellow chyrsanthemums AND an orange lily?" She plucked out a single bloom. "Oh, and one red rose! He bought these from my shop too! Probably while the new girl was on duty, the nerve of the guy!"

In case you were wondering, and I doubt you were, it happened to be Ino's time of month.

Sakura delivered a heavy sigh and stared at the flowers.

_**A few days later at the Yamanaka Flower Shop . . . **_

"Ino, I-" Sasuke dodged the ceramic pot thrown his way. The shattered pieces dribbled onto the floor, composing distorted melodies. "What a charismic welcome."

"You!" The wrath of the world's evils were imbued in that single word, Pandora's box thrown, hitting him straight in the chest with the 'hope' extracted and tormented into nonexistence.

Sasuke replied with something really smart that went a little something like:

"Me . . . ?"

Another ceramic pot.

Oh curse thou ninja training.

"You idiot! The nerve! The gall! You bastard! Despicible asshole!" With every two words, another pot thrown, another pot dodged, another pot shattered, another few thousand yen wasted.

Inoichi waltzed in, decked out in ninja garb. He planted a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"Stop breaking the merchandise, please. I'm going on a mission, tell Mom I'll be back in a week or so." He stepped around the remains of a celadon urn from the Country of Waves. "Hello Uchiha-san." And Inoichi was gone.

Ino huffed.

"What a mood breaker." Irritated as she was, she relented.

"May I approach? Or will you hit me with another pot?" Ino lifted her chin arragontly.

"How about I Mind Transfer you and ruin your reputation?" She offered sarcastically, although the underlying message still managed to get across.

"Hn."

"Well . . . ?" Ino looked expectant.

"What?"

"You came here for a reason I suppose?"

"Uh, yes well . . . " He trailed off. Oh curse thou pride.

"Mmhmm?" Prod. Prod. Prod. Sasuke-kun was getting rather annoyed.

"I-uh-well . . . Why has Sakura been avoiding me?"

"And the egg cracks."

_**At the Uzumaki apartment . . .**_

Naruto really, really, _really _didn't like it when Sakura started crying. And he had absolutly no idea why the girl had opted to come to him rather than to Ino. I mean, he was a dude, and let's face it ladies, dudes aren't good at consoling girls. Especially when they're crying the way Sakura was.

Naruto pulled Sakura into his apartment and picked her up, bridal style, because the last time she was in his apartment she slipped and fell on a ramen cup and came face to face with a cockaroach on his floor. And crying as she was, a repeat was immenient.

Placing her gently on his bed, he sat down next to her, spurring his brain into action, comtemplating how exactly to approach this situation.

"Uh, Sakura? Did I do something to upset you? Because if I did, I'm really sorry."

She sniffed, the waterworks at full force now.

"N-no," Sakura hiccupped, "It's Sasuke."

"I'm so sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto wailed, ready for a confession. "Sasuke asked me how to ask a girl out properly and I was all like, 'Oh, you're gonna ask Sakura-chan out, ne?' and he was like, 'Shut up, baka' and I said, 'Well, first you gotta give her flowers!' and Sasuke got the flowers like I told him too and then you looked upset when he gave them to you and now you're crying! Oh, Sakura-chan, I didn't know you didn't like flowers, if I'd known, I never would've told Sasuke to give them to you and I just know this is all my fault and-"

"No Naruto!" Sakura interrupted, feeling guilty that the selfless Naruto was taking the blame upon himself. "I love flowers, really! It's just the . . . do you know that flowers have meaning?"

Naruto stopped.

"Uh, yeah, like how roses are love, or something like that, right?"

"Exactly. And the other flowers in the bouquet didn't mean nice things like that."

"Eh? Really?"

_**At the marketplace . . .**_

"Sakura." Sasuke raised his voice enough so that she could at least hear him. He was seated in a small dumpling shop. Sakura turned around and smiled.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun!" She greeted. Sakura approached and stood next to his seat. "Mind if I join you?"

He gestured for her to take a seat. She complied and straightened out her navy blue skirt. "Sorry about the other day, Sasuke-kun, it wasn't your fault."

Sasuke looked at her oddly. Her eyes had a detectable pink hue to them, noticable even in the dark lighting of the dumpling shop.

"You've been crying," He observed. Sakura instinctivly raised her hand to her right eye, partially covering it.

"I-I guess I have!" The pinkette was desperatly trying to keep a light mood, which was proving to be difficult, especially since she was with the pessimistic Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, Ino told me the . . . meaning of the flowers. I didn't know, I swear. I just randomly picked them out. I-"

Sakura held up her hand.

"It's okay, Naruto explained it to me. Like I said, it's not your fault! Although, I do admit I thought it was slightly suspicious that all the flowers you picked out, save for the rose, were all negative in meaning."

"Yeah, guess I just have rotten luck." Sasuke admitted.

"Well, let me tell you something, the colors of the flowers matter!" Sakura held up a single, all-knowing finger. "For example, the striped carnation means 'No or refusal', and the yellow carnation means 'rejection'. You should've gotten me a pink, red or white one. And the yellow chrysanthemum means 'slighted love' while a red one would've been better. And for the lilies, orange ones mean 'hatred' and a Eucharis would've been more appropriate." To Sakura's surprise, Sasuke seemed to be paying attention throughout her speech, nearly to the point of taking notes.

"I see . . . Too bad I decided not to get you the pink and red flowers . . . " The raven-haired boy mumbled to himself.|

"Well, why not?" Sakura asked, curious.

"Well," A slight rosy blush crossed his face as he turned away, "I figured all the _other_ guys trying to ask you out would give you those colors. I didn't want to be stereotypical and so I opted to get you different colors, to . . . stand out . . ."

Sakura smiled.

"Well you did, just not in the way you hoped!" And she gave him a peck on the cheek before taking off.

* * *

**I wanted to go for a more light hearted tone in this chapter, unlike the previous two where everything was intense and dramatic. Unfortuneatly, it didn't turn out half as good as I would'be hoped. I'll admit, this went a whole lot better in my head.**

**I won't ask for reviews . . . **

**I shall resist . . .**

**Seriously . . .**


	4. Distances

**I don't know if you know this, but due to my romantic retardedness, I take my own life experiences and twist them into romantic scenarios. This story takes place in high school. Sasuke is the heartthrob with a little known kind-of-a-friend in Sakura. Sakura is confused about her feelings towards him and feels like she's getting left behind. There's the exposition, now read the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own. You don't sue. **

Distances

I don't know exactly when it happened, when we started to drift apart.

Perhaps when I found out he was with Ino.

Even then, it took me a while to figure out my feelings towards him. Last, last year, two years ago for you technical people. I didn't feel a thing for the infamous Uchiha Sasuke and I would be offended when people asked if we were together. Throughout this time we became close friends. At least in my mind.

_(La, la la . . .)_

It never once occurred to me that he had a whole other life outside of me. I want to blame him for not telling me he had a girlfriend or other friends. I guess the only way we even knew each other was through Naruto. I owe half my life to the guy, for always being there for me. Sasuke, Naruto and me. That's the way it was.

_(That's the way it always will be. Should be.)_

But then last year, that started to crumble. Sasuke left us; although we made an effort to maintain our friendship, I felt like we weren't wanted anymore, like we were the back-up plan that Sasuke was forced to fall back on before regaining his popularity at our school.

Nevertheless, Naruto and I broke into the group of Sasuke's friends. They all liked us, more or less, but I can't help but feel like I was a jester in the royal court. Everyone seemed to be above me, and the only reason they kept me around was for entertainment.

_(Some friends_._)_

There were some people that I wanted to shake off, annoying people who showered me with unwanted admiration. I tried to give them subtle hints to back off with a disgusted,

'_Why don't they get the clue?'_

in the back of my mind. And, in hindsight, maybe that's what Sasuke was trying to convey to us. And the thought hurts. Bad.

Now, I have two classes with Sasuke. First period and last. I think to myself,

'_I get to see him first thing in the morning, and before I leave.'_

It's a nice thought; nicer than the reality.

_(Reality is cruel.)_

At this point in high school, so much has changed. He and Ino are no longer together due to an unfortunate cheating incident. Both Sasuke and Ino seem happy about it, but according to others, Sasuke's pretty bummed. I kind of wonder why he doesn't show that side to me. Meanwhile, Sasuke has also risen to the higher ranks in the social system while I hang out with Naruto and Tenten, hovering between the fine lines of underdog and loser.

_(So basically, I'm no one_._)_

Today, the last period, we get to choose our groups for a little review game. My gaze instantly goes to Sasuke, who's already formed a group with Hinara, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba and Shino. Naruto's not in my class, so I'm forced to fend for myself.

I feel hurt, but I'm not inclined to say so, or even utter a bitter, sarcastic remark aimed at Sasuke to at least guilt him. Instead I suck it up and take it like a woman. I pass by his seat, both intentionally and because it's the only way to get out of the aisle, to show him that I still happen to exist. No dice. Today I'm stuck with people I don't know, there's Sai . . . Lee . . . others whose names I can't remember . . .

_(Am I just a horrible person?)_

In the end, my group wins the review game and some extra credit. I look over my shoulder and smirk at Sasuke, who doesn't even glance.

'_I bet you wish you were on my team now!'_

I catch the resentment and I'm surprised at myself.

As the bell rings, I bolt for the door. I intend to get home before it gets too hot. That's what I tell myself.

_(Start speaking out.)_

I am the first one out the door, but for some reason, I end up waiting for Sasuke. He comes out of the classroom in all his stupid glory, backpack slung over his shoulder and Hinata trailing. He nods to me, the only sign of acknowledgment I've received all day. My lips twitch into a forced, brief smile.

"Hi!" Hinata says cheerfully. This time the smile is real. I kind of hope Sasuke notices the difference.

_(Please notice me.)_

We walk to the front of the school together, Hinata chattering to the left of Sasuke, me pushing through the crowd on his right. At a turn, I get forgotten, caught up in a swell of other people. Hinata and Sasuke continue walking forward. I manage to weave around the students and get to them, me and all my persistence.

"Sorry, I completely cut you off," Sasuke apologizes. I want to say 'it's okay', but I decide I'm mad at him and I settle for a snort. Ha, I'm such a lady.

We reach the front of the school, and the head of the Hyuga clan is waiting for Hinata. He is dressed in a gray suit and looks like he has to be somewhere. She waves good-bye and rushes to the car. She leaves Sasuke and I to suffocate in silence.

I imagine we're a mismatched photograph to all these other people. Sasuke's boyish beauty and his cold, black eyes. Me and my awkward pink hair and my too big, green eyes.

"Sakura." My breath catches in my throat, it's the first time he's used my name in a month. Not that I've been keeping track.

I sit down on the bench next to him and straighten out my uniform to busy my hands. An uncomfortable space is between us, as if someone else is supposed to be here. We're angled away from each other.

_(Why won't you look at me?)_

"Hm?" I want to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

I have no answer. Me? Avoiding him? Honestly, I thought he was avoiding me. When I say so, he looks . . . confused. I feel proud, I, Haruno Sakura, have successfully confused Uchiha Sasuke. I want to laugh, what a misunderstanding. But we're so different, how can we help it? I want to be with him though. Whether I mean that in a friendly or romantic way, I'm undecided. Either way, we're too far apart. We are on opposite sides of the spectrum. But if we can bend and twist that spectrum, we can be next to each other again. We can break the distances.

"You've become quite poetic," Sasuke whispers in my ear.

"I always have been. You're just never around to notice anymore." I say, sarcasm long over due. Eventually, my mind registers that I had said that little bit of "poetic" nonsense involving 'spectrums' out loud, before noticing the closeness and proximity of Sasuke's lips and mine.

_(Kiss me.)_

Talk about distances.

**Well that could have turned out better.**

**Expect something soon, I already have the next chapter 3/4 finished.**


	5. Envious

**As promised, next chapter is up right away. Whoopdeedoo.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Chappie.**

Envious

Exhibit A:

"Rasengan!" The swirling mass of chakra missed Sasuke by, quite literally, an inch. The Sharingan wielder thrust his kunai up into the flesh of Naruto's extended arm, blood spreading across the orange fabric. Naruto stumbling backwards, tripping over a branch, trying to get away from a suddenly bloodthirsty Uchiha. Naruto bit his lip as he tried to be brave, examining the extent of the damage on his arm. Sasuke just stood there dumbly as the red of the Sharingan drained from his eyes.

"Stop!" Kakashi called, gesturing to Sakura to heal their wounds. The pinkette dashed over to Naruto first, who was beginning to whimper, due to the adrenaline leaving his system, and only pain left to be found. He lifted up his injured arm to show Sakura, but it ended up 'thwacking' him on the nose.

"Crap! My arm doesn't work anymore!" He screeched, flailing on the ground. Sakura told him to calm down and relax, leaning his body against the trunk of a thick tree. The green glow of healing chakra sprung from her black gloves, repairing the damage dealt. Her light cast shadows on her pale face, expressions fixed on repairing the nervous system in Naruto's arm. The wound healed nicely and Naruto flexed his arm when instructed. Sakura stood up and half turned to Sasuke, only her profile present in her eyes.

"Sasuke, you might have gone to far on that last attack. It's only sparring." She said coldly, a scathing undertone. And Sasuke couldn't help but notice the absent '-kun'.

Exhibit B:

The bell clattered as the indicator reached the top. The man at the festival booth congratulated Sasuke with a large, stuffed bear. It was plushy and soft and the kind of thing one would give to one's girlfriend, however, if one was lacking in a girlfriend, the bear was useless.

"Let me up!" Naruto demanded, puffing out his chest and taking up the mallet in his capable hands. He hefted the bulky thing up above his head and swung it down. The indicator shot up quickly, but fell short of the bell. A tag lit up, the words 'Almost Strong' scrawled across it in fancy, black carnival lettering.

"What? I'm a ninja, that should've reached the top!" He cried, "This game is rigged!" The man running the booth ignored that last comment and handed him a small rabbit.

"Oh my goodness! It's so kawaii!" Sakura gushed, taking the doll up into her arms. "I think I'll call you Chappie!"

"You can have it, I don't care anymore . . ." Naruto said glumly, stalking off.

"C'mon, Naruto!" Sakura, hiking up the skirt of her kimono, caught up to him. "How 'bout I treat you to _one _bowl of ramen?" She offered, holding up a single, slender finger.

"Aw, YEAH!" Naruto cheered.

"Geez! Amazing how quickly ramen can change you outlook on life," Sakura chided him in an affectionate manner.

Naruto and Sakura disappeared into the crowd of people, leaving Sasuke there to stand awkwardly with a large stuffed bear.

Exhibit C:

"I got an A!" Sakura announced proudly, waving the test like a flag. Kakashi smiled, patting the girl on the back.

"Good job, Sakura, best grade!" He said, handing the test scores to Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke, good job too. Naruto, you're going to have to retake the written part of the Jonin exam." Sasuke passed with a B and Naruto with a D+. Sakura sighed. The Jonin Exam Part I was, to put it bluntly, a very long and complex test including summoning jutsus, seal drawings, multiple choice on the history on ninjas (Which is quite hard considering that ninjas are supposed to be secretive and not leave behind too many records) and the dreaded essay. A team was only allowed to take Part II of the exam if all the members passed the first test with at least a B. The difference between a B and C could be the difference between life and death in the go-go world of ninjas.

"Want me to help you study? The retake is the 3 days." Sakura asked. Naruto nodded vigorously. Pass the test, spend time with Sakura. Bonus.

Sakura pulled Sakura through the streets, heading for the main library. "Let's get started right away. Quick! If there's a kunai and a shuriken on the ground, which do you pick up first and why!"

And yet again, Sasuke lost through winning.

Hypothesis:

Sasuke was able to best Naruto in anything, but somehow the blond had everything. It took him a while to realize it, but Sakura was his everything. Sure, his friends were important, but his only friend was currently in possession of his everything. Not cool. And Kakashi was . . . Kakashi, so he doesn't count.

Sasuke Uchiha was officially envious of Naruto Uzumaki.

No, not jealous. Being jealous was petty.

Experimentation:

"Sakura! Will you go on a date with me!" Each shinobi presented Sakura with a delicate boquet of flowers. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be having a mental war, although their gazes were focused on her.

"Uh . . . yes . . . ?" Sakura answered, in a daze. Sasuke the Irate pushed Naruto to the side, losing some points with Sakura, and stood up, composing himself.

"Hn. Yes to which one?" He questioned. The boy in orange returned, giving his rival/friend the stink eye.

"Naruto?" Sakura turned to him. "I'll go on a date with you." Sasuke's face fell.

"Why?"

"If you wanted to go on a date with me, you should've said yes when I asked you as a genin. There were plenty of opportunities." She answered, a cross face positioned on her pretty, little face.

_'I see . . . Resentment . . . '_Sasuke thought. _'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'_

Conclusion:

A knock sounded at the door of the Uchiha's apartment. The resident had succeeded in getting himself drunk with depression and sake. He stumbled over to the door, where the knocking had not ceased, with a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Sasuke swung the door open, pointing the sword at the person outside.

"Kakashi? What're ya doin' here?" The now confused man slurred. He pushed the door wider, revealing Sakura standing there as well. "Whaa? Kakashi got a date with you too? Well that's just great!"

"Ah, what are you now Sakura? 22? I guess that wouldn't be considered pedophilism!" Kakashi joked, winking at her. "But as you can see Sakura, since you've been dating Naruto, poor, little Sasu-chan here has been drinking himself into oblivion!"

"Oi!" Sasuke pointed his sword at his sensei sloppily. "Don't call me Sasu-chan!"

Sakura laughed airily.

"To think that I did this to the great Uchiha Sasuke! If you were gonna act this way, I guess I didn't have to bring Kakashi along as a rape bodyguard!"

"Was that 'pposed ta mean!"

"Dude, you're a mess! I'm fairly certain I can handle you." She responded with an sense of superiority.

"Oh really!" Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed Sakura's arm. She let herself be pulled into his apartment, even closing the door behind her and saying 'Bye!' to Kakashi.

The jonin giggle pervertedly and pulled out Icha Icha Tactics.

"She said she could handle him."

Inside the apartment, Sakura made herself at home, plopping her bottom down on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table, and pulling the remote control out of the seat cushions. Sasuke was making a ruckus in the kitchen.

Sakura placed her elbow up on the back of the couch.

"Oi! Sasuke, you okay in there?" She called.

Sasuke came out, a bottle of sake in his hand. The liquid in the serving dish was sloshing around, getting all over the floor. He downed the drink and pointing at Sakura, who was mildly amused.

"You!" He accused, pointing. The medical nin stood up and pointed at herself.

"Me?"

"You!"

He walked closer, swaying side to side, until his finger was at her chest. Suddenly he passed out, the sake bottle shattering as it made contact with the coffee table. Taken by surprise, she was pushed back against the couch, Sasuke's head on her lap.

What a convenient position.

Sakura opted not to tell Sasuke that her dating Naruto was all a ploy.

**Haha, take that Sasuke.**


	6. Forgotten

**I have this chapter out. So HA. **

**Disclaimer: Can someone tell specifically where it says we have to put this? I honestly have no clue.**

Forgotten

I suppose I really should explain my past to all of you, but I can't. Not yet. And besides, it would be a lot more interesting if I didn't. It would ruin the surprise. So sit tight.

I'm standing in my kitchen over a boiling pot of water. I start to add in the noodles when Naruto comes crashing through the pale green, wooden door.

"He's back! He's back!" Naruto's eyes are shining brightly. "Sasuke's finally back!"

_'What?'_

He grabs my wrist and starts to pull me away from my cooking.

"Wait, Naruto! I didn't turn off the stove!" I want to escape the vice grip, but my _ohsocunning _plan fails. Naruto calls up to my mother.

"OI! MRS. HARUNO! TURN OFF THE STOVE! THANK YOU!" My mother's voice answers back in some sweet tones lost in the crashing, quite literally this time, through the pale green, wooden door. I personally didn't like the faceful of fiber, but hey, that's just me.

Eventually, my feet find the sense to run instead of stumble. Naruto is pulling me towards the front of the village, dodging civilians left and right. I apologize to those who were not so fortunate to get out of the way. But they look amused, so I guess they're all right with it.

Naruto finally releases my hand and I can feel the blood moving again. Oh sweet circulation. My friend looks like he's been shot out of a cannon as he tackles some unseen person lost in the crowd of my Konoha comrades. I keep a safe distance. I feel dazed.

"You're finally back Teme!" Naruto's voice rises above the incessant chatter of the others. A velvety voice pierces through.

"Yeah, dobe." The crowd clears and all eyes are on me. Watching. Waiting. I'm not sure how to respond or react to this. The possessor of the velvety voice walks forward, eyes deep, black, easy to get lost in. Before I know it, we're face-to-face.

"Sakura . . . ?" He asks.

"Uh . . . hi . . . ?" I answer with my undeniably sexy cluelessness.

Realization lights up on Naruto's face and he pulls the possessor of the velvety voice away. He whispers in his ear and the possessor of the velvety voice looks disappointed and regretful and confused. He looks at me and mouths words I cannot make out.

Something screams in my head that I know him. But I don't. I really don't.

* * *

But I probably do.

I'm really not as stupid as people think I am. Really. I walk away from the awkwardness of it all with Ino. She's examining me carefully, like a cell under a microscope. The intense gaze of her blueblue eyes scare me. To an extent.

"So, what do you think of Sasuke?" Ino's games are never disguised, because she finds them more amusing that way. I decide to play along, using the classic 'play dumb' as my strategy.

"You mean that guy with the velvety voice?" I ask. Ino throws her head up towards the sky and laughs airily.

"Yeah, the guy with the velvety voice."

"Not much." Ino looks at me, confused. I clarify. "I mean, I don't really think much of him. Should I?" Ino waves me off.

"Nothing to fret about my dear!" She sings in a sweet soprano.

I roll my eyes at her. In an endearing manner. I look over my shoulder to see Tsunade talking with the possessor of the velvety voice. I can't help but notice that his gaze returns to me. A lot.

"Why does he keep looking at me?" Ah. It's that tact that everyone loves about me.

"Because you should think more of him."

* * *

I know it is only a matter of time before the possessor of the velvety voice comes to confront me. I suppose I hope there will be someone with me for moral support when it happens.

I'm walking down the streets of the marketplace when I stumble across the possessor of the velvety voice. He's bartering with an old man over some cabbages, when a young girl around my age throws a cabbage at him. She appears to be the cabbage man's daughter. She bursts into tears and pushes the possessor of the velvety voice away and accuses him of some sort of teenage crime. Ex-lover? Cheated on her? However him holds no remorse and doesn't even seem to recognize the girl when her father shoos him away.

"Hello. I'm Sakura Haruno, I'm the girl who was with Naruto the other day." I introduce myself as clearly as possible, trying to jog his memory. He looks at me, and his nonchalance drops into a look of sadness.

"Yeah, I know."

I'm feel surprise at the lack of response.

"I think we got off to kind of a bad start. What's your name again?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

I wring my hands uncomfortably. He's not giving me much to work with. I look at him imploringly.

"Wanna go for a walk?" The possessor of the velvety voice gestures to the empty streets where the hubbub had skirted around. I shrug and try for a smile.

We're walking to some training grounds where three logs have planted themselves in a neat line. I don't really recognize it, but it seems familiar. My companion weaves through the obstructions, and I follow.

"So you're amnesiac?" He asks.

"I have repressed memories, thank you very much." I correct him bitterly.

"Do you remember?" I don't understand his question entirely, but I shake my head 'no'.

* * *

He takes me to the Academy, where I have vague memories of school days. We go to the front office and receive visitors' passes before we start to wander. I notice small girls chasing after little boys, proclaiming their love and asking for kisses. The dull, monotonous walls are all the same color and not even an interesting one at that. I see Iruka-sensei poke his head out of a classroom and yell after some kid running away with a pile of papers in his arms.

A depressing light pours through the windows, reminding the children trapped inside that there is a whole other free world outside of these walls. We pass a science lab and a chemical reaction gone wrong is in the limelight, judging by the horrible smell and the scorched children running to and fro. I turn my nose up at the pungent odor, but for some reason, the possessor of the velvety voice doesn't seem to mind. Or notice. He seems out of it.

We ascend a flight of stairs to a room whose label proclaims:

**301**

I pass through the door that he holds open for me and he follows me in. He sits down at a desk and gestures me to sit next to him. I do. Hesitantly.

"Do you remember?" I shake my head again. He seems frustrated, but determined to get me to remember.

Remember _what?_

* * *

I am dragged to the hospital then. The place where I now work. Nurses and doctors that I recognize skitter about the halls. The possessor of the velvety voice seems intent on locating the correct room. He doesn't spare me a glance as his eyes scan the room numbers.

Finally, we arrive at what seems to be the right one. The room is empty and nurses look at me quizically, and to be honest, I'm just as confused as they are.

He pulls me inside mercilessly and sits down on the bed. He stares at me again.

"Do you remember?"

Before I get the chance to deny him, he gets up and pulls me to the roof of the hospital. It is above most of the village and I can see all the people bustling about, minding their own business. The chainlink fences are high and the tanks are rusting. I look around until my eyes rest on the possessor of the velvety voice.

"Do you remember?" This time he waits for my answer. I see his hand sparking with blue, crackling electricity, and an image flashes across my mind.

"I think I'm starting to."

He smiles.

* * *

We're at a bench now, near the gates of the village. It is stone, and cold, and hard, and hauntingly familiar.

"Where are we?" I ask. He ignores my question.

"Why are you doing . . . whatever you're doing?" I ask.

"Why aren't you answering me?" I ask.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Thank you." And those two, velvety words spark a montage of memories in my mind's eye. I knew this boy in my memories. He was the man standing with me here. Sa-

"-suke-kun . . . " I felt my eyes burn as tears sprung up.

"You remember?" I nodded, smiling all the way.

"I remember, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke's mouth erupted into a smile and he caught me in his arms.

* * *

**I was going to do a whole backstory of how Sakura's memories got repressed, but since I also decided to write this in first person present tense, that was out of the question. I didn't think anyone would get this, but I wrote it in present tense because of the whole "doesn't remember her past thing". Note that all details about the repressed memories were gotten off of wikipedia. And let's be honest, not always a reliable source. **


	7. Greetings

**I got this out earlier than usual. So happy holidays, I thought it'd be best to get this out before the busy part of the holidays when people have no time to read fanfiction! Yay! So, when I was planning the ABC thing out, I didn't plan for my G - Greetings to fall within the month of December. Complete coincidence. Oh, and in this lovely little present, there is SYMBOLISM! There's no right or wrong answer, but I'm curious to see how you'll all interpret this. Send me a PM or leave a review stating your interpretation if you're interested in playing my little symbolism game with me.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING**

Greetings

Snow is falling. It's dark and cold, a kind of foreboding scenery. Especially in sunny Konoha. I honestly kind of like it, I haven't seen snow in Konoha for the many years I've lived here. I've only seen it in the Snow Country, when we had that mission with Kakashi, Naruto and . . .

I wonder what _He_ is doing this Christmas.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sai are trailing behind me as I tell them we should get to my home before the blizzard hits. My hands are frozen stiff, and it hurts to move them. I flex and bend them, trying to keep the blood flowing. I skid past my mailbox, reach inside my pocket and throw my keys to Naruto. I fumble with the latch to open the metal box, which is freezing my already freezing hands. Joy. My hands are clumsy in handling the pieces of Christmas mail. By some Christmas miracle, I don't drop any of the precious cargo in the snow.

Kakashi rushes me inside and I clutch the pieces of heavy paper to my chest, protecting them from the snow. Sai is smiling a wooden smile to me and says Merry Christmas. I grace him with a real smile, because he's trying. He's really trying. Naruto has yet to make chaos in my home, but it's only a matter of time. And I can't wait until he does. Kakashi has his porno and it's not something I would consider very polite. So I'm grateful for that.

This is my family. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Except . . .

_He_ doesn't have a family.

My Christmas den is cozy and clean, if this is the OCD talking or not, I'm obsessing over everything that Naruto moves out of place, discreetly pushing them back into place. I'm not cooking or anything, because it's Christmas Eve and I don't want my family to feel pain today.

The pile of mail is abandoned on the desk next to the couch. I really hope no one notices that my eyes over drift back over there, but it's hard to concentrate on the three males in front of me.

"You can go ahead and read your mail Sakura-chan," Naruto says. I don't know what to say, but I silently thank him and unfold my legs, heading for the mountain of red and green.

I sort through the mail. People on missions for the holidays. People living in different countries. People in the village who knew the blizzard was coming. A particular name catches my eye and I rub my eyes and shake my head, trying to banish the hallucination. When I open my pale green orbs again, the lights are out and Naruto is groaning. I hear a rustle of paper and Kakashi's book is gone. It's pitch-black, the heater is off and all we can hear is the hail and snow trying to break in. The cold rushes over me and I welcome it with acceptance of the unfamiliar.

I take that particular envelope dyed red and green. I hold it up to a ray of light coming in throught the window from what I can only assume to be the moon. I strain my eyes to see and the penned in lines are blurry and they seem to shiftshape without having to move. But the general message still lies there in those blurry letters.

_SASUKE UCHIHA_

I cannot believe it. I feel tears spring to my eyes and I don't notice the long over-due chaos and the people calling out my name. Sakura, Sakura, Sakura.

"It's him," I reply in the smallest of happy voices. Because it is. He still cares.

Naruto's hand comes to rest on my thin, cold shoulders.

"Is it really?" He asks. I nod, shaking the tears from their perch. I tear open the envelope and the letter is sacred in fragile in my trembling hands. The ray of light is disrupted by the sillohuettes of the weather, so I read the letter haltingly. Not to mention the nervousness the of situation and the possibility that it_ isn't him._

_I'm writing this quickly because I'm not allowed to send out anything. I really hope this got through to you guys in time or at all. I don't really know what I'm supposed to write here, so I apologize for the lack of a letter. _

_Seasons Greetings,_

_Sasuke_

I recognize his cursive handwriting. I notice his quivering penmanship. I regard his rushed scrawl.

"Think of all the trouble he went through to get this to us," I choke on the sobs. I fall into Naruto's chest and he holds me. "Think of how many systems and rules he broke just to send us this letter!" I cry. The goosebumps on my arm are not calmed by my icy cold hands.

I push myself away from Naruto and run outside, despite the fact that I have nothing to protect me from the cold save for a thin shirt, spandex shorts and a flimsy medic apron. I feel the cold wrapping his arms around me and kissing my hair and wiping my tears and breathing his cool breath on my white neck. Kakashi is yelling out at me from the doorstep.

The icy wind whispers two words into my ear, and I cling to him but he pulls away and disappears from my vision. I think my tears are freezing into ice and I feel a different cold wash over me as I start to lose conciousness and the veins condense in my body to conserve the heat. No heat. No heat.

No heart?

Kakashi is now pulling me back inside, but I dig my heels in and tighten my stiff, stiff muscles to create greater density and weight. I want to stay out here. In this cold. Doesn't he get it? Why can't he leave me alone? He never cared before. His progress is immediately slowed and Kakashi calls for Naruto and Sai's help. The three boys struggle with my kicking, punching form as a attempt to break free from their grasp, succeeding a couple times only to have them catch me again. I think I'm losing my mind over that little letter. Kakashi starts a fire in the hearth and wraps me in a blanket. He obviously doesn't know what to do in a situation like this. No heat. No heat.

Sai comes over to me by the fireplace. He doesn't say anything or look at me. He removes his drawing materials and sketches on the thick paper as I watch. He starts with a light, feathery line and rounds it into a face with a noble chin and high cheekbones. His charcoal writing utensil creates a full head of spiked hair that stick out in the back. I see the heel of Sai's hand rub against the charcoal on the paper and smudge it purposefully. The picture of _him_ looks faded. He rips the paper out of the spiral notebook, the pieces of paper that held onto the rest of the mass by way of the spiral holes are torn and disfigured in a way that no one really cares about. He holds the paper in his hand and gestures towards the fire with the same hand. I snatch in away from him and hug it to my chest possessively. No heat. No heat.

Naruto is concerned and tries to talk to me. He runs out of subjects rather quickly and is confused and hurt at my lack of response. He nudges me with his elbow and I nonchalantly rock back and forth, eyes fixated on the tongues of flame. They dance temptingly before my eyes, but the heat is restricted by some force. My mind is somewhere else, trying to escape the labyrinth of blazes. My heart is reveling in it, daring the flare to try and consume it. My heart is playing a dangerous game. Doesn't it know that when you play with fire, you get burned? No heat. No heat.

I droop my eyes to a close and beg the dark cold to take me away from this place and with him.

And he complies.

* * *

**Don't. Forget. THE SYMBOLISM!**

**Yay for writing . . . I want to say instruments . . . hmm.**


	8. Hair

**I apologize for the massive delay, but I blame vacations and schoolwork, just like every other aspiring writer in here. Well, I managed to come up with a longer chapter and I also stood to fit in some humor, you can see it if you look really closely. I swear I will get to Back Into the Past, I'm working on it right now and I have virtually nothing.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. Or SDA.**

Hair

Sasuke walked on the left side of the caravan as the young servant girl gazed at him longingly.

"Why don't you just tell her to bug off?" Sakura asked from the front of the traveling carriage.

"Hn." She rolled her eyes and resumed humming the tune of the song stuck in her head. Her shining, _pink_ hair bounced in rhythm with her step

Team 7 was assigned to escorting the Haruno Clan Princess to Kusagakure for her marriage. They were chosen specifically because of Sakura's relation to the Princess.

"She's being married off the the Prince of Kusagakure to fix the feuding between our clans." Sakura told them earlier that day, seemingly displeased about the arrangement. "People are too prideful to talk things out. They have to ruin people's lives instead."

"Okay, let's set up camp here for the night. We can start out at dawn." Kakashi announced to the travelers. Sakura twisted her body this way and that, popping the kinks in her back and neck.

"How about you kids go get some firewood?" Kakashi's eyes closed in mocking pleasure.

"Cliche!" Sakura sang, running off into the surrounding woods. Naruto chased after the object of his affections with Sasuke trailing not far behind.

Sakura was giggling madly.

"You seem awfully happy today." Sasuke said poignantly.

"Perhaps today's a good day to be happy." She twirled on her toe. A kunai shot up from her slender hand and a nice piece of firewood dropped from the tree. Sakura's knees bent and she shot up from the wet ground and a nice leap of sorts carried her to the branch, where she retrieved her kunai and landed neatly.

Naruto's arms were embracing a pile of firewood.

"You'd best get started!" Sakura recommended, she herself already with a reasonable stack of kindling. "Or at least help us."

"Oi, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice piped up at the riverbanks where the genin of Team 7 were hanging out.

"Hm?" The addressed pinkette's bare feet splashed in the water.

"Does everyone in your clan have pink hair?"

She pulled a blade of grass out and creased it in half.

"Only me and the head of my clan." Sakura answered, pursing her lips.

"Is it natural then?" Sasuke asked. "A rare trait exclusive to the Haruno Clan?"

"I suppose you could say so."

"So is that a yes or no?" Naruto said inquiringly.

"You guys seem unusually interested in me today." Sakura said avoiding the question.

"Which is it Sakura?"

"Sakura?"

"COMING PRINCESS!" She called, withdrawing her feet from the foamy hands of the river and ran towards the campsite.

"The Princess didn't call you!" Naruto shouted accusingly.

"She sure was in a hurry to get out of here," Sasuke observed, picking up her ninja sandals, the soles roughened and worn.

"Yup. So it's obviously dyed."

"Died?"

"Yeah, her hair is dyed," Naruto repeated, unaware of Sasuke's momentary confusion.

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Naruto's eyes looked sly.

"Perhaps." Sasuke's infamous smirk broke out across his face.

"So the bet: I think Sakura's hair is dyed, you think it's natural." Naruto's hand was held out.

"You're on." Sasuke's hand was held to Naruto's and they shook on it.

And so the battle begins.

* * *

"Oi! Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, all smiles. Sakura turned towards him, warily, helping the veiled figure of the Princess into the carriage.

"Yes?" She said more out of habit rather than pure interest.

"Wanna hear a joke?"

"Sure, whatcha got?" Boredom from the word 'joke'.

"Well, a man walks into a bar and . . . "

_'Distraction . . . ' _Sasuke thought as he slunk into the campsite unnoticed. Naruto was occupying Sakura and Kakashi was directing the Princess' additional men.

He quickly sifted through Sakura's belongings, finding a couple of -ahem- _interesting_ things. But nothing like a dye bottle.

"You know Sasuke, you don't have to look through Sakura's things. You can always borrow _this _if you ever feel . . . you know!" Kakashi said sweetly, holding up his Icha Icha Paradise.

Sasuke's face went red.

"Hn."

"I don't hear a denial!"

* * *

"I found no dye bottles in her bag, nor were any discarded." Sasuke reported. Naruto sat and contemplated the information.

"Maybe it's a no-fade color thingy. I don't know the terminology of hair products."

"Terminology? Big word, your head's not going to explode, is it?"

"Haha."

"I've heard that some dye comes out with water," Sasuke added.

"Hmm . . . Well, we'll have to get her wet then."

* * *

"Hey look! A hot spring!" Naruto yelled from the front of the caravan. Kakashi peered up from his book and studied the establishment built around the hot springs.

"Sakura?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at his female student. Sakura pulled away from the screen separating her and the Princess, apparently having spoken to her.

"The Princess wants to stop by." She confirmed.

For the first time, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi laid eyes on the Princess. She was exactly what they expected a Princess of the Haruno clan to look like. Long, flowing hair, eyes the exact shade of green that Sakura had, fine silk clothing, pale, porcelain skin, thin, lithe body.

"Wow."

"Close your mouths boys, she's betrothed." Sakura said in a pissed off voice.

"Come, Sakura-chan, let us go." The Princess said in a regal voice. Sakura's eyes rolled in an over-dramatic manner, but she consented.

"No peeking," She warned before taking off.

"So boys . . . " Kakashi began with a mischievous glint in his grey eyes,"Shall we go peek?"

"Gee, this royalty business is difficult!" Sakura complained loudly, sinking into the hot spring waters, pink hair done up in a bun. The Princess, similarly dressed, or for that matter, _un_dressed, sat down too.

"You're telling me," she laughed. Sakura rolled her eyes although there was a smirk on her face.

"Yeah."

"So what about your team? Do they know at all?" the Princess asked. Sakura shook her head.

"I think it'd be best if they didn't."

"Will they forgive you when they find out?" Sakura's eyes looked forlorn as she stared at a spot in the water.

"I don't think they'll really care. Naruto might at first, but he'll get over it."

"And Sasuke?"

Sakura shook her head harder this time, the water droplets landing some distance away from the strands from which they came.

"Sasuke-kun definitely doesn't care."

"They're having a cryptic, deep, intellectual conversation. I think they're using girl-code or something. Although the part about Sasuke not caring makes sense," Naruto reported from the peepy-hole on the male side.

"Aww! Naruto-chan is using big words now!" Kakashi cooed.

"It'd only be cryptic, deep, and intellectual to someone as stupid as you. They're girls, how confusing can they be?" Sasuke said. "And what about the hair?"

"Oh!" Naruto seemed to just remember. He looked back through the peepy-hole. "Her head was completely in the water, but it's still pink. Maybe it takes multiple washes?"

"Yes, but does it look any different than usual?" Sasuke said louder.

"I can't tell! The lighting is weird!" Naruto shouted back.

"Why are you such an idiot!"

"Why are you such a jerk!"

"Why are you yelling!" Sakura's voice sailed over the wall.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING SO DIFFICULT!" Sasuke shouted, probably squeezing the last of his patience rations to death.

"NARUTO'S RIGHT! YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" Her resounding sobs were now the only things heard, as well as the Princess's coos.

"Nice going, Sasuke," Kakashi said, his eyes tired and his face covered by a towel.

* * *

"What is it now, Naruto?" Sakura's voice was laced with poison.

"A-ah . . . never mind, Sakura-chan . . . " Naruto answered tentatively, withdrawing his hand. He fell back to walk next to Sasuke. "I don't think she's just going to tell us where her hair color comes from . . . "

"Well, duh, dobe."

"It'd be easier if you hadn't yelled at her, you're the REAL dobe," Naruto muttered.

A sensation similar to that of the famed "Spidey Sense" struck all the shinobi. Eyes narrowed, muscles tensed and defenses heightened, they searched for the source of the unfamiliar chakra.

"Kakashi-sensei-" Sakura whispered. He nodded and they all left a cloud of scattered dust from where their feet had originally been.

Sakura and Kakashi appeared inside the Princess's quarters.

"An ambush," Sakura whispered to the Princess.

"Ah- okay . . ."

"Shh . . . "

The caravan suddenly rocked, back and forth and side to side, like a cradle about to fall from a treetop. The items that the Princess had used to entertain herself on the trip shifted and slid, all running towards what they assumed to be their safe haven.

A black-clad shinobi came crashing through the back of the carriage, taking the Princess in his arms. Kakashi put a kunai to his neck and Sakura, one at his back.

"Release her," Sakura demanded.

The shinobi's eyes suddenly widened.

"Y-You . . . " The Princess was dropped and his fist went into Sakura's stomach as he twisted to avoid the kunai. Sakura coughed up blood and put her hand to her stomach, tracing the outline of her wound created by the poisonous, sharp protrusion attached to the ambusher's knuckles.

"K-Kuso . . ."

Sakura collapsed on the ground.

"There, she should die in a few days . . . " The rogue said, turning away from his latest masterpiece.

"You!" Kakashi's voice echoed in his mind, Sharingan red and blaring.

The assassin cried out in pain, holding his head and eyes bulging out of his skull.

"Kakashi! What's happening!" Sasuke demanded, appearing within the small room along with Naruto. The scene was tinted red and orange, the Princess in the corner, a frail hand held out towards Sakura, who was writhing in silent pain on the ground. Kakashi looked down upon a broken shinobi.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto whimpered quietly.

"What happened to her?"

"She was attacked, and based on her response, with poison."

"There's gotta be an antidote!" Sasuke's voice shook and raised.

"If we hurry to our destination, I'm sure someone can heal her!" The Princess's voice was desperate and fearful. "We must help Sakura-sama!"

"'Sakura-sama'?"

* * *

"I want an explanation."

"Gee, no, 'Are you alright, Sakura-chan' or, 'Does it hurt, Sakura-chan?'" The bed-ridden girl complained loudly.

"Hn." Sakura struggled to sit up, but no one dared help her for fear of her breaking; wherein 'breaking' is not a verb, but a noun.

Everyone involved in the journey, down to the burly men who carried the carriage on their shoulders and the ninja hired for protection gathered round in the cramped tatami room, transformed into a hospital room for the time being.

The Princess approached Sakura and put her hand on hers.

"I'm the real princess of the Haruno family." Sakura confessed.

Shocked faces appeared, scattered at first among the smarter ones, the dumber ones encountering cruel lag time.

"Of course, the Princess here is the descendant of the current head, and is quite legitimately royal as well. But our system of selecting the next head is different. A long time ago, the heads tended to be corrupt and made bad decisions, reducing the population of the Haruno clan. At last, a more enlightened head inherited the throne. She cast a everlasting jutsu that the next head of the Haruno clan would be born with distinguishable, pink hair.

"I being born as such, was next in line. I am to be delivered, then married to the head of another clan-"

"But you're only thirteen!" Sasuke interrupted.

"I know. But I'm in no position to change the rules, even if I am the next head."

"But why do you have to marry at such a young age!"

"I . . . I have a responsibility to my clan! You of all people should understand!" Sakura yelled, tears streaming.

Silence fell over everyone.

"You should probably leave. _Now_." The Princess recommended, helping Sakura lay down. She shooed them all out and closed the day behind her.

Through the muttering of people passing through the hall, Naruto was sitting on a bench and Sasuke was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed with a trashcan in between them.

"She doesn't want to get married to this guy. You saw it in her eyes," Sasuke told Naruto. He nodded, watching the people who walked by.

"What do you think it would take to talk her out of it?"

Naruto's back suddenly straightened and he looked at Sasuke.

"You mean you're going to mess with royal affairs?"

Sasuke chuckled.

"Looks like I am."

* * *

"You know, you really over did it this time," Sakura said flatly, although there was a smile on her face. "You didn't have to crash the whole wedding."

"I know. But Naruto insisted on it."

"Yo!" Naruto exclaimed, running alongside with them, "What about the bet?"

"What bet?"

"We bet about the origins of your hair color. Naruto thought it was dyed and I thought it was natural," Sasuke explained.

"But it was a jutsu, so it's neither-"

"Yeah. So that's the issue."

"Well, what was the prize?"

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . Well, what is it?"

" . . . -mumblemumble- . . . "

"What was that? Sasuke-kun?"

"WELL FIRST WE MUST HAVE AN IMPARTIAL THIRD PARTY DECIDE!" Sasuke shouted, sweating like Niagara and blushing like a sunburned tomato. Picture that.

"I assume that means me?" Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded quickly.

"Hmmm . . . Eeny, meeny, miny, Sasuke!"

"So now can you tell me the prize?"

"You."

" . . . "

" . . . "

"Gee guys, get a room."


	9. Invisible

**Wow Rin, that only took you . . . forever to update. Don't worry, now that this is out of the way, next chapter of Back Into the Past should be up . . . soon enough. So, the good news is I finally finished Death Note and am now on Hetalia.**

**Disclaimer: Who owns anything anymore besides the big companies?**

Isolation

I am currently sitting behind a tree. Yes, right now. I'm hiding from the monsters that you all call students at Konoha High. Not that the monsters are looking for me, or even know I exist. But still. You can't be too careful anymore. Even the ones under my bed have no idea. Or the one in my closet. Especially the ones in my closet. Those monsters are very stupid. You'd be surprised. Oops. I think I was found.

Darn it.

I think it's pretty safe to say so, because there's this guy coming up to me right now. I look down and what I'm assuming is his football is in my hands.

This guy is flipping amazing.

He actually found me. I might have to give him a plaque or award or something. Plus . . . he's really pretty.

Wow, where did that come from?

It takes me a while to realize it, but I recognize the monster. His name is Sasuke Uchiha.

He's like, the King of Monsters.

"Sorry," He says, holding out his hand. I refuse to get up, so I wrap my hand around the lacing and throw it, looking for the spiral. It strays to the left. I bluster a bit. He reaches out and is still able to catch it.

"Bad throw," I apologize. He shrugs.

"Better than most girls." Sasuke Uchiha promptly turns around and leaves. Another boy, Neji, joins him. Sasuke looks back over his shoulder at me, and I feel a slight shudder. I need a better hiding spot.

Neji follows Sasuke's eyes to where I am sitting. But he does not see me.

Neji has the sharpest eyes in the school which do not miss a single detail. He's training to become a detective of some sort.

Maybe I really am invisible.

* * *

I can't stop thinking about Sasuke Uchiha. Which really bothers me. Because that means some really cheesey scene is in my future. Such is the way of life when an outcast falls for a popular guy.

Notice how I never said 'love'. Until that last part. But that doesn't count.

To make things more awkward, I run into Sasuke mom, Mikoto, at the supermarket. For a second, I think she's with Sasuke, before I realize it's Itachi.

"Hello Sakura-chan, how are you?" Mikoto says. I nod in greeting and smile.

"I'm fine. Just going in to get some groceries for Mom. You know how she is." She laughs.

"Yeah, she goes in and sees a coupon for ice cream, then she ends up-"

"Buying the whole store!" We joke in unison. Itachi is looking at me with curiosity.

"What?" I shrug innocently.

Itachi shakes his head.

"I feel as if this is an inside joke that I wasn't there for. Does Sasuke remember you yet?"

"Funny thing. I ran into him at lunch today. Didn't recognize me at all. Had this face that said 'Uhhh'. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. No offense, Mikoto-san." Mikoto waves it off.

"He just hasn't been the same since first grade," I sigh reminiscently. I hear the alarm warning me of a flashback and I quickly stop myself from looking into the upper right-hand corner. I blink my eyes rapidly to keep the screen from going blurry.

"Are you okay, Sakura-san?" Itachi asks. I smile, and it is a complete bluff.

"Y-yeah, everything's good," I lie, nearly knocking over a pyramid of soup cans on an employee giving out free samples.

I make a loud popping noise with my mouth, louder than I intended, but oh well. I rock back and forth on my sneakers awkwardly (what can I say? I'm an awkward person) and stubbornly refuse to look into either Itachi or Mikoto's eyes.

"Well," I drawl out unnecessarily,"I'd best be going."

Mikoto smiles gently, sensing my discomfort. "Good-bye, Sakura-chan," she says merrily. Itachi bows respectfully and draws away. I roll my shoulders, something cracks, and power walk out the automatic doors, completely forgetting about that whole box of Lucky Charms I was supposed to get.

* * *

I wish I was Waldo. He's a little better at hiding than I am. Because Sasuke found me.

Again.

What the heck?

I'm going to have to reconsider rejecting my original idea of giving him an award. This kid is truly amazing. He walks me to calculus. I take it in stride as if him acknowledging my existence is a regular occurrence. Which it isn't. I figure the change has something to do with the Football Incident of the Grocery Store Incident. Or a combination of the two.

We stand in front of the door awkwardly, silence stifling me.

"Well," I make a popping sound with my lips and rock back and forth on my feet, as is the tradition when ending a conversation with an Uchiha, "See you around." Sasuke says nothing, but nods. I swivel on my heel and enter the classroom.

I sit in the back of the room, as is my routine, to avoid being seen. I spend the whole class period trying to figure out what's going on in Sasuke Uchiha's mind.

I usually get a head start on walking home in order to avoid the flood of monsters trooping their way to their closets and the underneaths of beds. Unfortunately, I feel compelled to linger at the front of the school a while longer. Already I feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

There's Sasuke.

Darn it. I've lost my nerve and before I know it, my feet are dashing down the sidewalk.

"Sakura?"

My feet automatically stop at the sound of his voice kicking up an impressive cloud of dust. With the spontaneous disappearance of my soles, the forward momentum pulls me down towards the ground. My knee takes a harsh beating as if makes contact with the cement. Hmm, that can't possibly be my blood on the sidewalk . . . ?

I flip myself over and examine my knee. I prop myself up on my arm, the palm of which is also scraped.

Sasuke suddenly is beside me. Everyone is looking at this point. I'm not invisible anymore, which really bothers me.

"Are you okay?" He asks. I'm about to say 'yes' when he sweeps me up and begins to sprint.

"Really, I'm okay," I say. Sasuke remains looking straight ahead. He skids to a stop in front of what I recognize as the Uchiha household.

"Mom!" He calls to the house as he sets me down on the stairs leading up to the porch.

"It's just a little scratch," I insist before I realize that my leg is now dripping and oozing blood. Mikoto is outside when she sees me and my bloody knee. She disappears inside and reappears with a first-aid kit.

Sasuke takes off his sweater, which I realize is stained with my blood. Mikoto cleans my wound, the sting causing me to go into a series of winces. She applies a bandage to my knee.

"Can you stand?" she asks. Sasuke help me up and I gingerly shift my weight to my injured knee. I nod to Sasuke and he releases me. I test my foot and a sharp pain shoots up the length of my leg.

"Nope, going down," I say with a strained voice as my leg buckles and I make a date with gravity. Sasuke catches me and sits me down slowly. "Can you call my mom and tell her that I might be a little late to dinner tonight?" I request as politely as possible. Mikoto nods. "Arigato, Mikoto-san."

Sasuke gives me an odd stare. I laugh.

"Is it weird that I"m on a first name basis with your mom?" He turns red and avert his eyes. A feeling of nostalgia washes over me. And this time, I am not able to prevent the bittersweet flashback.

_My eyes were big and watery with tears as I held my dirty, bloody knee. Sasuke ran inside to retrieve his mommy. She came to me in a gentle blur of Neosporin and Batman band-aids. I swiped my arm across my eyes and my vision was momentarily cleared before the coming onslaught of tears. My face was tear-streaked, dirty and a huge blob of snot was hanging in the balance. Mrs. Uchiha ran a tissue over my face. She smiled kindly and asked if Sasuke would be a dear and show me the bathroom. He gallantly escorted me to the bathroom and pulled a little step-stool to the sink so I could actually reach the faucet._

After a good five minutes of furious face-washing, the doorbell chimed and my mommy was there to pick me up. Mrs. Uchiha was explaining the situation to Mommy when Sasuke and I arrived. As the two ladies said their good-byes, Sasuke turned to me. 

_"Get better . . . and stop crying," he said in what must be his concerned voice. He pecked me on the cheek and when I looked at him, his cheeks were flushed. The flash of the camera faded as Sasuke averted his eyes._

"We were so much bolder back then," I sigh as we find ourselves on the couch flipping through the pages of the Uchiha photo album. The image of our kiss is displayed on the page right above the photo of Sasuke's sixth birthday party. Sasuke half-grunts, half-chuckles in agreement. Mikoto enters the room, holding the phone to her shoulder.

"Your mother's working late today and won't be able to pick you up until eight. You can stay and eat dinner with us.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude . . . " I begin to protest. Mikoto objects immediately.

"Nonsense."

Good, because I don't want to leave.

* * *

"And then the alligators say, 'Well that bites!'" Mikoto and I burst into laughter while the more stoic Uchiha males smirk or give something that faintly resembles a grumble, but also a chuckle. Fugaku swirls his tea around in his cup.

"So Sakura, what have you been up to the past few years?" He inquires, taking a sip.

"Well, the usual teenage stuff-"

"Drugs?" I am shocked.

"What-no, I-"

"Drinking?"

"Mr. Uchiha, I-"

"Sex?"

"Fugaku! I'm surpri-" Mikoto's attempt fails.

"Stealing?" Sasuke's chopsticks clatter against the ceramic plate and his chair squeals as he stands up.

"Dad," Fugaku is silent,"I don't appreciate you accusing Sakura of such things without any solid evidence." Sasuke signals me to follow. I quickly bow to Mikoto.

"Thank you for the delicious meal," I say before scampering after Sasuke.

He leads me back out to the porch and helps me to the swing.

"How's your knee?" He inquires softly. I bent my knee and straighten it.

"Better, as you can see, I can now kind of stand on it and limp quickly. Yup, I'm a fighter!" I sound proud.

"Sorry about what my dad said back there. He's viciously protective," Sasuke apologizes.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Dad did the same thing when I brought a girl home for the first time," Itachi quips, leaning in the doorway. "Mind if I join you?"

Sasuke looks like he's about to answer in the negative, but he doesn't. My eyes start to burn and the need to quench the fire rises. One tear at first, but now there are several droplets hanging off my nose and chin.

"Aw, no, Sakura, please don't start crying . . . " Sasuke half-begs. Itachi presents me with a box of tissues and a blow my nose into one very loudly and unlady-like . . .ly. . . How would one make unlady-like into an adverb? Another mystery to add to my list. The first being this whole situation.

I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun." His eyes widen, then soften almost immediately. I wonder for a second, but then more snot is running down my nose, and to prevent looking unattractive in the least, I reach for another tissue.

"I think that's the first time you actually called me by my name since we started talking again," he whispers lowly. I try to shrug it off convincingly, but based on the reaction of the two, it was to no avail.

Oh, well here comes to waterworks.

Itachi, sensing his little brother was about to make a move, stands up and excuses himself from the porch.

"Sakura, I can't believe I forgot about you." Oh no, he's using the Guilt Trip on me.

"It's okay, I'm an easily forgettable person. One time, we went to the mall, and then Mom forget that I was still in the candy store waiting for her to come and pay for my-"

"But you _are_ my best friend." I look down and wriggle my toes thoughtfully before looking up with an epically coy and "I-just-caught-you-red-handed" look.

"I love how you used that in present tense."

Sasuke's all red again. I wonder if I embarrassed him. I feel something drop on my lap. I look down and a see an irregular, round, dark mark in the denim of my jeans. And judging by the hot tear running down my cheek, I'm going to have to say that I've reverted back to my crybaby-ness.

"I've missed you, you know," I confess. Sasuke's redness fades a little.

"Why didn't you say 'hi'?" Sasuke asks. I laugh sadly.

"I was waiting for you to say hi first." It's at this point that I stop pushing the swing with my leg. "You know, thousands of times I almost went up to say 'hi', but every time, I lost my nerve and walked right past you." A car rolls up, and a quick glance at the license plate confirms it is my mother. And the loud, incessant honking convinces me it is definitely her.

"That's my ride," I try for a smile. Fail.

Sasuke walks me down the porch steps, and in the driveway, I'm about to say good-bye when

Bam.

He kisses me.

Not on the cheek like last time. A kiss, like, on the lips. When he releases my stunned little self, he gestures to my slightly disabled knee.

"Get better . . . and stop crying."

Aw, ain't he the sweetest?

* * *

**Wow.**

**That ending sucked.**


	10. Jailbreak

**Well, it's been a while. I must say, I really like this one. I feel like it should be a whole other story. If you feel the same way, I'll make your dreams a REALITY! -evil laughter-**

**Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.**

Jailbreak

Red lights everywhere.

Her dark, black abyss littered with little turquoise lights is invaded by red. A masculine silhouette is outlined with scarlet and turquoise, and she draws the gun she was taught to use in training, but never thought she'd actually shoot. The silhouette becomes smoke and a curtain of water slides off the high-tech equipment, sprinklers falsely activated. Her female comrades fall one by one like dominoes, from the red invader's strange weapon. She fires blindly at the falling corpses and soon she hears a _click_ and she is out of ammo. Conquered by paralyzing fear, she dares not move when his foreign weapon is at her throat.

Crimson eyes leer from a pale face dripping with water and swirl when he withdraws his weapon and kills the last girl calling for security with yet another curious weapon. He collects the _shuriken _embedded in her back and sheathes his _sword_. She blinks and his glowing red eyes are flat black. He speaks.

"Where are the keys to Naruto's cell?" She stands among the bodies of the dead, clueless. He does not like to repeat himself.

"_Where are the keys to Naruto's cell?" _She scrolls through her catalogue of nouns beginning with the letter 'k'. An old image presents itself with the definition. She speaks.

"Do you mean the instrument used to work a lock consisting of a blade and a bow?" she inquires, intending on being thorough. He shrugs, just as clueless.

"Sure." She smiles. Fake.

"We don't use those around here."

She is not aware that she is now his hostage.

* * *

A luminescent screen is juxtaposed to a steel door. He looks at the name tag clipped to the fresh white of her lab coat. Nonsensical numbers, letters and words disclose her date of birth, hair color, eye color and ID number, and her picture shows the girl with long hair, although it was cropped short in present. But nowhere on the tag does it say 'Haruno Sakura'.

She lifts her index finger and begins to write foreign letters on the screen.

"What language is that?" he questions casually.

"New Japanese. I invented it," she answers, gesturing at both the screen and the language, "it only recognizes New Japanese, which is only taught to the scientists and the higher-ups. It reads fingerprints, hand writing and body temperature, so if a person is under pressure or dead, they can't be used to open the door," she explains, almost proudly, as the heavy steel door rolls back into the wall.

The room inside is wide and spacious, but severely cramped with test machines and containment cells.

"The Kyuubi's room," she clarifies.

Naruto is curled up in a ball inside a Plexiglas cube, snoring soundly. Sasuke walks towards the cell and comes to a stop centimeters from the glass.  
A red-orange eye snaps open and Naruto's chakra becomes scarlet with the Kyuubi's tainted chakra. He leaps out at Sasuke and a clawed hand attempts to slash, but a chain secured to his throat electrifies and yanks him back. When his eyes open again, they are topaz blue.

"Sasuke?" She nudges the raven-haired boy.

"The feed is over there," she says, pointing to a bag of dog food. Sasuke's brow raises quizzically and Naruto's stomack emits a pitiful, empty sound.

"Food, Sasuke, _please_," he begs, dehumanized. Sasuke doesn't show it, but he is surprised that Naruto would take this humiliation.

"Sakura, open his cell," Sasuke commands. The girl frowns.

"What is a _Sakura_?" she asks, scrolling through her mental dictionary, "The cherry blossoms?" She understands that she is to open to cell, although this strange interjection confuses and muddles her.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hisses as a warning, "you can't call her that, she's been _cleansed_." Yet again, Sasuke is perplexed. Naruto smirks internally, an underlying tone of '_oh yeah, Sasuke doesn't know about what's been going on.'_ He reiterates.

"She's been brainwashed by the government." Naruto hesitates as he continues on, "She's been _reprogrammed_ so she can't disobey any commands." A section is carved out of the Plexiglas with glowing strokes and falls forward; the cell is open. Sasuke enters the enclosed space and draws his sword, slicing through the chakra-restricting chains. She almost objects, but holds her tongue.

"Bet you're glad I left now," Sasuke adds smugly. If he hadn't left, he would've been captured as well; this escape wouldn't have been possible.

"As long as you come back, buddy." Sasuke directs his attention to the former Sakura.

"What do we do about her?" Naruto walks up to her, wrists and neck weighed down by the remnants of her bondage, and refers to her ID tag.

"A-27, tell me where they keep the memories."

"Specify _'they'_ please," she says with a robotic voice.

"The Sound Village," he answers through clenched teeth.

"Top floor, last room on the right." Sasuke heaves Sakura—A-27—onto his back and begins to sprint. Naruto quickly matches his speed, despite the heavy chains.

"Why didn't she go into lockdown?" Naruto whispers lowly, so Sakura—A-27—doesn't hear. "The cleansed are supposed to "shut-down" when in peril."

A-27's ears prick.

"Per . . . il . . . ?" Her iron hand grips down onto Sasuke's shoulder, slowing and forcing him down to his knees. A-27 dismounts and a flash of life shoots across her dull eyes.

"I thought . . . I thought you were the Caretaker who exterminated the traitors and fed the Kyuubi . . . Who . . . Who are you then?" she asks, gripping her pounding head in an effort to calmly analyze the situation. Her eyes squeeze close and a glittering of tears emanate from her lashes. Her eyes open once again and life is evident.

"Sasuke-kun? Naruto?" she whispers hoarsely, "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke is tentative in replying.

"S-Sakura?" She frowns.

"Of course, who else would I be?"

"Naruto, what's going on . . . ?" Sasuke mutters guardedly.

"It's this kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde phenomenon," he whispers back.

"Guys!" she calls their attention back, "What are you doing here?"

"C'mon, Sakura, we have to get moving." They take off running in the direction of the room labeled 'Memories' in New Japanese.

"There." Sasuke gestures to the machine. "Do you . . ." _remember the pass word?_

"Yes, just because I'm Sakura doesn't mean I don't remember." She adds in a monotone mumble, "Only when I'm A-27."

Sakura enters the pass code and the steel door slides away, no longer hindering their progress. Red lights flood the hallway once again and a computer voice blares through invisible speakers.

_THE KYUUBI HAS ESCAPED LOCKDOWN LOCKDOWN LOCKDOWN_

The gears hidden within the walls immediately rev to life and the door begins to close.

"Hurry! Inside!" Naruto yells over the blasting security system. They dive in and out of the path of the door into a room filled to the ceiling with breakable jars filled with colored substances. They are stacked on metal shelves like library books.

"Sakura, where are your memories?" Naruto asks.

"I don't get it, she's back. Why do we need her memories?" Sasuke inquired as Sakura disappears to locate her jar of memories.. Naruto, in spite of himself, grins at the fact that he knew something that Sasuke didn't.

"She's only _lighted_ right now, the Jekyll/Hyde thing. It's a flaw in the cleansing process that momentarily gives people back their memories. But the permanent solution is to reinstate their memories."

A gunshot breaks through the boom of the siren and Sasuke feels a bullet tear through his right leg. A barrage of bullets rain down on the two as Sakura knocks out one of the guards and takes his machine gun. The guard on the other side of the shelf continues with his onslaught, unaware and uncaring of his comrade's fall.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she screams, bearing the sleek black weapon and the jar churning with her liquid jade and swirling blossom memories. Sasuke shoots across the aisle way and narrowly averts another bullet that instead slashes his sleeve and joins Sakura. As he lands and puts pressure onto his injured leg, he winces and crashes into Sakura. Naruto swoops beyond the reach of bullets and climbs the way with his chakra as some poor soul's jar of memories is shattered and splashes onto the floor.

"Sasuke! A window!" Naruto reports from his higher view. Sakura hugs her jar to her chest and gives Sasuke the gun, although he has no idea how to use it. They meet at the lone window as bullets riddle holes in the surrounding walls and shelves and jars.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm going . . ." Sakura breathes. At first, he does not understand. But then he sees that light is fading in her eyes and she is desperately trying to stay. His sight begins to blur from loss of blood in his leg and he must concoct a plan quickly. Sasuke snatches the jar from Sakura who does not react, and bestows it upon Naruto.

"Don't break it," is all he says. He straps the machine gun to Sakura's back, and she remains still, trying to focus on staying lighted. Naruto uses his chains to assist him in defacing the window. He looks down into the bitter cold air and metropolitan landscape.

"Uh . . . Sasuke . . . ?" Although he does not answer, Naruto knows he heard him.

"I forgot that we were on the top floor." Sasuke looks away from Sakura and down into the void of concrete and metal. The gunman is approaching at terrifying speeds, the bullets pining to claim their life becoming more and more accurate.

Sasuke faces Sakura and looks straight into her withering eyes.

"Sakura . . . do you trust me?" Her last spark is retreating and her chapped lips move ever so painfully.

"Yes."

"That makes one of us." He crashes his lips into hers and pulls her close because he is injured and he doesn't know if he can make this literal leap of faith. But she believes he can. She stupidly believes in him.

Naruto has already bounded through the shards of glass surrounding the mouth of their escape. He slows his potential death rate by clinging to the side of the concrete building that neighbors this facility with his chakra empowered hands and feet.

"Sasuke!" A bullet whistles past his face and Sakura is gone. Sasuke pulls A-27 onto his back and she latches on as he breathes in slowly and falls.

* * *

**It's like a cliff hanger! But for a one-shot!**

**What the heck? That was hardly SasuSaku! It was only so at the end!**

**Okay, let me know if you agree with the voices inside my head and this must be made into a multi-chapter.**


	11. Kalology

**So for this chapter, I went and got myself a dictionary (a rather small one that was only one inch thick, one of those (extremely large) pocket ones) and flipped to the K section to look for an interesting prompt. This is what I came up with. It's rather short.**

**Disclaimer: Wow. NO ONE OWNS ANYTHING HERE!**

Kalology

Despite having the Sharingan eyes, Uchiha Sasuke did not see a lot of things. Well, of course he saw them, but he didn't _see_ them.

Like how at daybreak powdery blue and lilac melded so perfectly, haloing the scarlet sun. How fragile songbirds _chirruped_ in sweet, high tones and indistinguishable lyrics. The only birds Sasuke ever heard originated from the crackles of his Chidori while training in the cool, dewy mornings, waiting for dawn. Often the cloud hung skies were overlooked or the emerald leaves sparkling with fat spheres of morning dewdrops.

To Uchiha Sasuke, the only beauty came in the form of pure power. "Beauty" distracted; caused one to forget one's true ambition and instead pursue a fleeting image of a dream. Perhaps this is why Haruno Sakura waited patiently in Sasuke's peripheral vision. Although she hoped, she doubted the addition of a third comatose to Sasuke's Sharingan would help him _see_ her.

Uchiha Sasuke was the reason why Sakura lingered in front of her mirror every morning. Poking and prodding at her face and body, tracing the curve of her jaw, the bridge of her nose and toiling with her cut hair with the question "Am I not pretty enough?" lurking in the darker recesses of her mind.

In truth, she was quite pretty. Most anyone could see that. Naruto and Lee were quick to attest to her beauty, and even Ino grudgingly conceded that Sakura's facial features drew attention from her forehead.

But alas, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Let's fast forward a few years.

It's the Fourth Shinobi War and now Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are on opposing sides. And Fate being as she is, has doomed the two to meet in battle. Sakura knows how this will turn out. Naruto is secured away in a distant island, point being that he is not found, and will not engage in battle. Kakashi is locked in a duel to the death with two dead comrades going by the name of Obito and Rin. Sai is dealing with his brother.

Sakura has lost no one to death, has (almost) no one to haunt her on the battle grounds. However, battling Sasuke is just as bad.

She knows she cannot bring herself to kill him and that he has no problem killing her. A total of four murder attempts, two for each of them, are proof enough of that. Sakura stands on a leveled meadow two kunai in each hand, tipped with poison that Sasuke is immune to. Sasuke wields his Kusanagi, the blade glimmering already with the blood of her fallen comrades.

Sasuke imagines all the gruesome ways that he can kill this girl he once knew in a past life. He can nearly see the way the light in her eyes are slowly being extinguished, fading all too quickly for him to enjoy thoroughly. He imagines her crimson blood trickling down his arm as his blade impales her milky flesh, first in streams, then in rivers. He envisions the look on Naruto's face when he finds the fragile pink-haired girl broken on the ground behind Sasuke, drowning in a pool of her own blood.

Sakura lingers in the past, not quite wanting to face the present just yet. She remembers when Sasuke flashed in front of her while she protected Tazuna from the Demon Brothers, throwing himself in harm's way to protect her. She recalls the time when she mistakenly thought Sasuke had rescued her from the grip of Gaara's sand, the way his face distorted with the anger that it was Naruto and not him. She remembers their last night as friends—allies—lovers, standing on a path in light of the full moon, remembers all the words etched in her heart pouring from her mouth in a truth that not even she had expected.

Sasuke makes the first move and disappears, leaving a small cloud of dust as the first drop of rain makes contact with the ground. Sakura sidesteps the initial thrust of the sword and blocks the secondary swing with a kunai. Sakura escapes the force of the blade with a back flip that puts considerable distance between her and her opponent. Sasuke does not take her seriously and has yet to use his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan or expel any amount of chakra. Sakura takes this as a blow to her faltering pride and her stance weakens in the smallest possible degree. Sasuke takes this as a forfeit and once again moves in with the intent to kill. She immediately reforms her resolve and then contorts her beautiful features in a dark, deadly way that is emphasized by the lightning crashes and needle downfall.

Sasuke smirks and his eyes are wide and crazed with bloodlust, excited to end the bloom of this flower in a storm of rage and hate. Sakura's eyes are narrowed and her lips are dead set on ending the corruption of this boy here and now, even if he must die. They clash with a thunderous track of musical destruction in the center of their battlefield. The force is so great, so monstrous that they are both forced back to their original positions with a spurt of mud rising in their tracks. Both their fingers sting with the bitter cold of the air and the hilts of their weapons resisting the leverage of the other's weapon.

Sakura throws both kunai at Sasuke and with a quick twirl of the sword; they are both discarded on the mud. In the blur of metal, Sakura had managed to appear in front of him, hanging in midair with a deadly fist of chakra waiting to pound his pretty little face in. Sasuke automatically sends his Sharingan spinning and delivers a forceful kick to her stomach, sending her flipping none too gracefully through the air and into the mud. She is sprawled on her back and when she brings herself to sit up, coughs blood repeatedly into her hand.

Sasuke could end her now, but finds his feet unwilling to move. He watches her stand up and retrieve a kunai from her holster. They exchange several more blows, only occasionally glancing the other's cheek or slicing through a thin layer of clothing. Sasuke is not fighting to his fullest, neither is Sakura. They are sizing each other up, getting used to their fighting style, calculating ways to counter them. Sakura purposefully keeps her eyes away from Sasuke's, fearing both Tsukiyomi and the possibility that his eyes would cause her resolve to crumble like her heart.

Her face is dirty with flying mud and gushing blood, rain streaks carve through the grime weakly. She is the first to speak.

"Fight me. Fight me to your fullest."

Sasuke's first reaction is either to go on fighting as if he had not heard or to inform her that she could never match his skill to such an extent that they could have a respectable battle. Determination shines in her eyes in a green so vibrant he could've sworn there was a emerald star hidden in the depths of her eyes. He begins looking at her as a person, not as a nuisance and for the first time _saw_. How breathtaking she looked in the midst of battle, eyes blazing, hair flying, and chakra whipping around her in ribbons. The science of kalology had always been lost on him, but today, he might've just maybe seen the tiniest glimpse of a thing called beauty.

Sakura is behind him, whispering in a voice heavy with ruin.

"Sakura Blizzard."

Sasuke's eyes dart around their battlefield, and he curses for not noticing how many kunai there were littered on the floor, each tagged with white. They are encircled and surrounded with fire, smoke, regret, fear, and acceptance. The shockwave immediately ends Sakura and the light dies instantly. There is not as much blood as Sasuke had expected, but a jolt in his chest tells him that his heart is failing. With the last of his ability he twists his body and catches the-Sakura-that-was and slides in the mud with his slowing heart jumping to his throat.

With a feeling that he cannot name, he enlaces their fingers and he clasps her clammy hands in his own. She is lying with her face staring emptily at their entwined fingers, pink strands of hair obstructing her paler than usual face and dull eyes. Sasuke has not said a single word throughout this entire encounter and he regrets it. Something about impending death has snapped his façade in half. Last breath chokes out two words that she will never hear and his heart dies.

* * *

Naruto is too late when he arrives.

The sun is shining mockingly, as if this loss is okay and everything is just peachy. He wants to tear the sun in half and spit on its fiery remains for being happy when everything in his world has just withered away in a brilliant earth-shaking explosion. He stares at his two comrades—friends—and no tear escapes his eyes. Naruto stares good and hard and cold. Killer Bee says nothing; this isn't the time for comforting.

Naruto squats down and his shadow lingers over them, black and dark. He brushes Sakura's hair from her face and tucks it behind her ice cold ear and sees the eerie, placid smile positioned _ohsoperfectly_ on her porcelain face stained with blood, both hers and Sasuke's. He eyes their fingers entangled clumsily in one another's and grasping so tightly and vaguely wonders who initiated contact. Naruto moves his gaze to Sasuke, rotating his head so slowly and mechanically, his neck may have been a chain of gears with rust festering in each and every last crevice,

Sasuke's eyes are closed and his mouth drawn in a straight line, nothing unusual about that. But when Naruto pinpoints a thick, clear line, leading from the edge of Sasuke's eye, he knows it isn't rainwater. It must have been too fat a drop, too hot.

Naruto rolls Sakura's corpse off of Sasuke's and they lay side by side, still clutching hands. Naruto breaks and allows himself to take part in the heinous act that Sasuke had allowed himself to do in his final moments. He rubs his sleeve across his eyes roughly, turns around and says to Killer Bee:

"I'm done here, let's go find Madara." His fellow Jinchuuriki takes a moment to respond but nods and they leave.

The corpses are collected along with the numerous dead and the person who finds them does not recognize their bodies. She smiles mournfully and dreams up a story about two lovers who die in each other's arms while the enemy deals the killing blow.

She never once imagines them as enemies against each other.

* * *

"_Stay beautiful."_

* * *

**Well, I think that was the single story/one shot with the absolute least amount of dialogue. I admit it was difficult to get, but that "Stay beautiful" nonsense were the last two words Sasuke said to Sakura before he died. **

**Gosh I'm so angsty.**


	12. Lullaby

**Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I have returned . . . with fluff. And humor. This is a little shorter compared to my other stuff, but this is all you're getting for the time being while I write BIP. Hehehe . . . BIP.**

**Disclaimer: SDA**

Lullaby

Following Sasuke's return to Konoha, many things were to be discussed. For example, were they going to kill him?  
Of course, it's difficult to argue with Naruto, especially when the civilian majority of the village supported him, along with the bulk of all of the influential ninja. And with the death of Madara, Sasuke, the sole-surviving member of the Uchiha clan—which was all too important to Konoha, both in power and in intelligence which had been missing for the past decade— was standing right in front of them.

Sasuke's elimination of major threats such as Orochimaru and of course, Uchiha Madara, also played a part in saving his ass from the law. The only people who truly and outright rejected his return were the village elders, whom no one really liked or wanted to listen to in the first place.

Next were the living arrangements. Sasuke's old apartment had been rented out to an elderly couple and he had no money to buy or rent a new place. And upon Tsunade suggesting that he return to the Uchiha District, she received a harsh glare masking saddened eyes, telling her Sasuke wasn't ready to go back. Naruto offered his apartment, but it was deemed uninhabitable for any human being other that himself. Kakashi and Sai immediately _poofed! _Out of the Hokage's office before Tsunade could request. All other males in Konoha had one excuse or another. 'It's too troublesome' or 'My sister would rape him' or 'I'm gay and he's not and the _eversopopular_ 'He's gay and I'm not.'

Tsunade realized that everyone needed time to develop trust between Sasuke and themselves, and she had exhausted her resources. At last, she turned to Sakura.

"Can Sasuke live with you?"

To say the least, her parents were excited.

Sakura's civilian mother was absolutely thrilled to see the handsome face that Sakura had brought home. Her ninja father only knew that the S-rank criminal that he was ordered to run away from upon sight was in his daughter's house within killing distance.

Sakura had only said that she would be acquiring a new roommate in her apartment, and her parent had insisted on meeting them right away.

Sasuke retained a straight face as Mr. Haruno grabbed a kunai and pulled Sakura away from the dangerous _S-fucking-class_ criminal and asked in a trembling, cautious sort of way.

"Sakura, what is _he_ doing here?" He would not run away. He was a family man and a ninja, he would protect his family from this . . .

"He's my new . . . um . . . roommate." Mr. Haruno nearly spit. _Monster. Villain. Snake. Traitor. . ._

"Sakura. What is _he_ doing _here?_"_ Back-stabbing, faithless, heartless . . . _

"He's gonna live with me until he makes enough money to move out."

_BASTARD!_

"Oh, only until then? Why not forever?" Mrs. Haruno cooed with stars in her eyes. Sakura winced and a blush spread across her cheeks, embarrassed with what her mother was suggesting.

"Well why don't you just go to the living room and make yourselves comfortable? I'll be . . . hiding . . ." Sakura shoved everyone into the room and ran into the kitchen and closed the blinds separating herself from everyone else. Sasuke, only somewhat unfazed sat across from Sakura's parents. Her father was glaring and lighting a cigarette and her mother with her face stunned and swooning, was drooling a bit. His two least favorite people: methodical ninja who didn't trust him and shameless fangirls.

Sakura opened a slit between the wooden blinds and peeked at the trio, Sasuke facing her was a nasty glare of _what-the-_hell-_did-you-get-me-into_? Sakura did her best to look apologetic through the shafts of wood.

That's when the questioning began.

"What made you come back?" Mr. Haruno inquired. His wife looked at him quizzically, not quite understanding, "He left the village without permission, he abandoned us, he betrayed us, he's a deserter," he spat and Mrs. Haruno looked conflicted and distrusting, probably killing his chances of moving in.

"I had accomplished my self-assigned mission. I avenged my clan, there was no reason for me to stay away any longer—"

"So you had nowhere else to go?" Mr. Haruno said in a way that made it sound really bad, probably worse than it was or than he really thought.

"I had several places I could've gone, I chose Konoha."

"Why?" Sasuke forced his glare upon Sakura, unleashing hell. She cringed and in the depths of her heart felt sorry for leaving him in the hands of her parents. Felt strangely compelled to re-enter the room and just be there. Teamwork. Like Kakashi had taught them, being there for your team even at the risk of your own life, even if they didn't want to, even if they broke a few rules in the process.

"Hey, I got some tea . . ." Sakura interrupted, just grabbing some drinking water and tea bags. Mrs. Haruno immediately helped herself to the tea, before cringing away from the mug and frowning.

"Honey, you're supposed to boil the water." Sakura shrugged and sat next to Sasuke, a safe distance between them.

"You know how bad I am in the kitchen," she yawned. Mrs. Haruno stared at the two, and then focused on Sasuke.

"Sasuke, dear, I hope you know how to cook."

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura had been living together for a couple weeks now. He was slowly scraping together money and cooking meals that they often ate in silence. Sakura made no particular effort to please or socialize with her guest, contrary to what her previous nature may have provided.

Despite living together, they rarely talked and Sakura made an intense effort not to look him in the eyes too much. They had virtually no contact.

Tonight, Sakura had come home late from her hospital shift and collapsed into her bed without a word. Sasuke sighed inaudibly and began to prepare their dinner. Sasuke had made a parse tomato soup and left two steaming bowls on the kitchen table and went to Sakura's bedroom. He knocked loudly and called through the wood in a routine voice.

"Sakura, dinner!"

He put his ear near the door to listen if she was coming. Sasuke heard a quick sharp intake of air followed by a series of short, repressed sobs. He knocked softly this time.

"Sakura?" He quietly contemplated his next course of action, and went against his better instinct. Sasuke knocked once more.

"I'm coming in." He paused a moment in case there was an objection before putting his hand on the knob and turning. As he had suspected, Sakura was in bed, sitting up with tears streaming from her eyes, moonlight reflecting off of the water brightly. Sasuke once again considered his options. It would be socially Sai-ish to just leave after seeing a teammate emotionally wrecked, and Sasuke was determined to prove he was better than Sai. So with finality, Sasuke crossed the room and closed the blinds so the world would not see his first attempt to comfort a crying girl.

When he turned to Sakura, she was cowering from him, hiding half of her face underneath her blanket, jade eyes misty and wide with fear and reprehension. Sasuke, being as methodical as always, padded over to her bed with the realization that whatever nightmare Sakura had suffered from had something to do with him. He softly lowered himself onto the bed and Sakura flinched away from him.

"Look Sakura, this . . . arrangement won't work if you're scared of me." Sakura slowly relaxed and due to habit, averted her eyes away from him. Several moments of silence followed and the subdued screaming of the springs underneath Sakura's mattress signaled the movement of the Uchiha so that he ended up sitting against the headboard next to Sakura. With a deep breath and several hesitations, he reached his arm to wrap around Sakura's shoulders and roughly pulled her into him. While this action temporarily stunned Sakura she was grateful that he had the nerve to try and a little annoyed that it was working to comfort her. Sasuke, for once was the one to pull his eyes away as a light blush wavered over his pale complexion, although he was sure (hoped dearly) that it was too dark for Sakura to see.

And against all odds he started humming.

It was a soothing, familiar tone that made Sakura grow tired and forced her eyelids to droop heavily. In the margin between dreams and reality she whispered in a voice choked by sobs and tears.

"What song is that?"

"A lullaby my . . . mother used to sing to me."

"Mm . . . mine too."

Sasuke resumed humming and Sakura started mumbling in a low voice in what Sasuke realized to be the tangled lyrics of the song. In some parts where Sakura was unsure of the lyrics, she sank into a lighter hum than his and picked up on the lyrics where they became familiar again. As they reached the chorus, Sasuke joined in on the lyrics and Sakura listened intently and knew that his singing voice was something she would like to hear again. The song faded away as it reached its finale and Sakura's tears had dried and her sobs had ceased, and Sasuke was somewhat proud to have succeeded.

"It was you." Sakura confessed, burying her face in his shirt, wanting to feel his breath and hide from his stare. Perplexed as he was, Sasuke didn't know what to think nor what those three words were about. She clarified.

"My dream. It was the time when I tried to kill you . . . and you tried to k—"

"That time is over, we're . . ." _Allies? Friends? Acquaintances? _

"IN BED TOGETHER?" Naruto yelled through the doorway with bulging eyes and an open mouth. "HOW DARE YOU TEME? TRYING TO MAKE A MOVE ON SAKURA WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING!" Naruto then pointed accusingly, "ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU MADE ENOUGH MONEY TO MOVE OUT LAST WEEK!"

* * *

**I noticed an anime inconsistentcy. For those of you also interested in Hetalia, do you recall the episode when a scientist explains that there's something in tomatoes that weakens the will to fight (thus making the tomato-loving Italians weak cowards that run away)? But, as all dedicated Naruto fans know, Sasuke's favorite food is . . . TOMATOES!**

**Someone please explain this to me before I implode . . . and then explode.**


	13. Melt

**I'm aware that I have been neglecting my Naruto fanfics, but I'll get those up and running again, I promise. So here's the latest chapter, and I am officially halfway done with the alphabet. Yay. This chapter is rather humorous until certain events happen, then it's kind of serious and fluffy. I think that's the term. Fluffy. FL-UUUUU-FY! Oh yeah, and I don't write lemons.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this thing, we wouldn't be waiting for Sasuke to come back in the manga. Bleh.**

Melt

22-year-old Uchiha Sasuke treaded lightly through the exquisite hallway of his hotel floor. Flowery tapestries and royal painted faces stared at him blankly as his feet picked up speed. Naruto trailed cautiously behind him, mouth open in mid-sentence. Wisely, he retracted his planned statement and fell back, ever so intently watching the back of Sasuke's suit grow ever so smaller and then disappear around the corner.

Across the street, a certain Haruno Sakura waved good-bye to her friends and departed their Girls' Night Out's official club. The pumping music was muffled immediately, the heavy doors closed and forbidden. With her med school final closing in quickly, Sakura allowed herself generous study time, staying for but an hour before abandoning her friends for . . . text books.

Sakura donned her beige trench coat and hammered her fist against the traffic light button and watched an innumerable amount of cars blur over the freshly rained asphalt. The smell refreshed her nerves and the incandescent lights of the city reflected off the water in refracted streams.

The light across the street switched from red to white and Sakura power walked across the black expanse, skillfully maneuvering around extensive puddles, while making plenty of noise in her heeled boots. So focused on the mosaic of lights staining the black street, she did not have time to maneuver around the largest obstacle encountered thus far.

Sakura nearly broke her nose against a hard chest and her gaze snapped upwards. The owner of the chest responded just as quickly. His onyx eyes which had been trying futilely to distinguish stars and constellations in the city sky locked with hers and shock ran a race across his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!" "Sakura?" Their voices gasp in unison. The timer for the street light began to cluck like a strange bird.

"Uh, which way are you going?" Sakura asked, pointing a finger in the direction that she was headed. Sasuke shrugged and looked up at a hotel a couple blocks down.

"Whichever way gets me away from there," he replied. Sakura smiled and grabbed his wrist and began to pull him along beside her. Once they had merged with the crowd of late night civilians, Sakura released Sasuke and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"So, what has the mighty Uchiha Sasuke been up to since we last met?" she inquired, looking vibrant against the bleak or shouting colors of the cityscape.

"I got a job as a police officer and I work with my dad. You?"

"Med school has been choking the life outta me. Ironic, isn't it?" Sakura giggled. "Hey, you wanna crash at my place? I won't be much fun, but if you wanna get away from the evil hotel I'd be more than happy to help." Sasuke raised an amused brow at her.

"It's not the hotel, it's Naruto." Sakura gasped mockingly.

"What? You share a hotel room with Naruto? I never knew you swung that way!" She sighed dejectedly, "Well, I guess I ought to find someone else to be the father of my children," Sakura joked, playing off of her schoolgirl crush that they both knew she used to have. Sasuke merely gave her a sidelong glance in response and Sakura immediately put on a straight face.

"Right. Making fun of your sexuality, _not_ funny."

* * *

Sakura yawned and propped her heavy head on the palm of her hand. The words of the text book blurred and floated before her eyes.

'_Kyuubi . . . eats . . . leaf . . . ramen . . . and Chidori . . . peels . . .'_

Her supporting arm collapse and her _slightly_ larger than everybody else's (Yes, _slightly_ dammit!) forehead collided with the paper lined with strange words that seemed to come from an alternate universe. A loud snort erupted from her nasal passageway and she was jolted awake.

"Kyuubi eats leaf ramen and Chidori peels!" she screamed, head flailing wildly, searching for whoever caught her napping in class. Oh. It's just Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at her from the couch he had been slouching on, the flickering lights highlighting his features as he turned the mute TV off. Sakura grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't have my coffee today," she explained. Sasuke simply shrugged it off and instead stood up and donned his jacket.

"You wanna go out for a drink?" he asked over his shoulder. Sakura blushed wildly, the thought of _her_ and—and _Sasuke_ going out for a drink was too much to bear for her little heart. She nodded so quickly Sasuke thought she might give herself a concussion. She leapt up from her seat and darted to his side, pulling her jacket around herself with the silliest grin imaginable etched into her face. They left Sakura's apartment, said girl debating whether or not it was appropriate to latch onto Sasuke's arm and snuggle into him. In the end, she decided on 'Hell yeah!' and promptly acted on her previous thought. Sasuke didn't seem to mind, and in fact smirked softly a little. Which was almost like Sasuke . . . smiling . . .

Like, with actually _joy_. And _not_ the demented kind!  
Holy crap, the world just imploded. And the exploded.

Once inside the nearest bar, Sakura let go of his arm and ordered sake. Being the protégée of the great doctor Tsunade, she had developed an almost unhealthy taste for alcohol. Of course, not as bad as Tsunade (was that even possible?), but bad enough to order more than a couple shots.

A while later, after joking, laughing and _smiling_ (none of which Sakura would be able to remember) from the both of them, they were stumbling around the hallways of Sasuke's evil hotel. Naruto had been mysteriously missing that particular evening, and the two had the whole apartment to themselves . . .

* * *

-insert your favorite lemon here-

* * *

Sakura woke up pleasantly, which, being not-a-morning person should've been the first warning sign. The next was that she probably _should've_ been experiencing a headache splitting enough to cut the exploded world in two. And the all-important third sign was realizing that the ceiling was most certainly _not_ her ceiling, but that of a _hotel room. _

Sakura sat up, shifting the weight distribution of the bed, and began to panic.

"No . . . this is _not_ happening . . . this _can't_ be happening . . ."

Sakura's hysterical grumblings roused Sasuke from his slumber and he propped himself up on his elbow, watching Sakura's silhouette dress itself with beams of light escaping from the blinds framing her figure.

"Sasuke . . ." she whispered, freezing, "We're in a _hotel room_ . . ." Sasuke frowned.

"You know Sakura, the hotel isn't really evil." Sakura whirled with a frenzied look in her eyes.

"Yes Sasuke! It is! This is _your_ hotel room! It means that you're not staying! It means we just had a one night stand and . . ." her eyes traveled to his left hand, which was resting on the mattress casually bearing a criminal sign of union to another. Sakura's heart leapt to her throat as she choked out the next few words.

"And you're engaged . . ." Frenzy was replaced with hurt and betrayal as she dashed out of the room. Sasuke quickly made himself decent (which translated to put on his pants and went out shirtless, because let's face it, Sakura cannot resist a shirtless Sasuke) and followed Sakura out into the hall.

"Wait! Sakura!" He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Sakura's tear stained his chest and he stroked her hair, whispering it.

"It was an arranged marriage. My dad didn't give me a choice. Naruto wanted to hold a bachelor party, and that's when I left and found you. I'm getting married today, will you please come?" Sakura's sobs became increasingly louder.

"Oh my gosh . . . I just had a one night stand with my engaged former crush, current love interest, and he's getting married the morning after!" she cried, waking up the entire floor.

Sasuke pulled away and looked her pleadingly in the eye.

"Please, will you just come?" he almost begged. _I need you there_.

Sakura wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and bowed her head.

"Dammit Sasuke, stop looking at me like that, I'll come."

* * *

Sakura arrived dressed in a stunning luminescent green dress. The pearly light gracing both her gown and her face made Sasuke hate his father even more, because he _wanted_ her. Naruto, dressed up in non-obnoxious colors, was at Sakura's arm, a last minute date.

"Teme! You'll never guess who I ran into this morning!" Naruto proclaimed, nudging Sakura, who smiled faintly in response.

"Yeah . . . talk about run-ins . . ." Sasuke muttered. Sakura looked down at her feet and he scratched his nose uncomfortably, causing Naruto much confusion.

Sakura was careful to make herself scarce during the festivities, especially during the reception of the outdoor wedding. Instead of sitting next to Naruto and slapping on a happy grin, she ran. She ditched her shoes at the base of a tree and clambered up the trunk, ripping her dress in the most uncaring way. Sakura retreated to the highest branch possible without causing it to break under her weight and began to cry with repressed sobs. This was not happening, this was not happening . . .

Turned out, denial wasn't the best form of comfort for Sakura, for her crying reached deep into the night. The cold breeze caused her skin to prick and she shivered, a louder-than-the-rest sob escaping.

Immediately after, Sakura heard the rustling of the branches below her and she bit her lip and curled herself into as small a ball as possible, hoping this would be enough to hide her from this tree-climbing intruder.

A mass of ebony poked itself into the lower canopy and Sakura recognized it as the hair style of tonight's groom. When Sasuke had managed to ascend a probable height, lower than Sakura's but enough to look her in the eye, he began to speak.

"Thank you," he whispered. Sakura uncurled a little bit and wiped her eyes.

"For what?" she answered hoarsely, hiccupping. Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, allowing his thoughts to surface.

"For coming. For loving me and not my dad's money. For, you know, existing." Sakura's lips tugged into a smile.

"The last two were not optional. You shouldn't thank me for them."

"Thank you for having pink hair and beautiful jade eyes and a sense of humor strong enough to make me laugh and—"

"Stop it Sasuke, you're not mine. And by default, I'm not yours." Sakura sighed. "You know, every time I'm around you, you make me melt."

"You make me melt too. Just not in the same way." Sakura tilted her head to the side adorably, displaying her confusion.

"Remember in the second grade when Ino Yamanaka gave me cooties and I swore I would never love again?" The girl nodded.

"You lived up to that promise fairly well." Sasuke shrugged.

"Every time I'm around you, the ice around my heart starts to melt." Sakura ran her hand through her hair and laughed.

"Gosh Sasuke, you wouldn't think it, but you're such a cheesy romantic!" She touched her hand to his heart. "What do you say? Have I managed to thaw your heart out?" Sasuke nodded. Sakura pulled her knee to her chest and rested her hands on top of it, then her head.

"Sasuke? Is it wrong that I'm in love with a married man?" Slowly so as not to fracture the tree branches, Sasuke moved towards her and touched his nose to hers, hovering for a moment, his breath gracing her cheek. He made a decision and kissed her, and Sakura accepted the gift.

"Only as wrong as it is for me to love you."

* * *

**Worst ending _ever_. Okay, maybe not as bad as the Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake (that episode killed me twice, and I bet you can guess where) but hey. Point is, no happy ending.**


End file.
